With the Mets' managerial search primed to roll into November, Mr. October has voiced his support for Carlos Beltran.
Speaking to Mike Puma of the New York Post, Reggie Jackson explained how he believes Beltran, who is known to have gone through multiple interview rounds with the Mets throughout this process, has the right qualities to lead a major league team.
"Carlos Beltran is just a classy act, loves baseball, knows baseball, a good deep thinker and I think just the right mix with understanding analytics and how the game should be played," Jackson told The Post.
"He is either going to manage now or a year or two from now. He is going to be selected because he is desirable. He is a desirable character and personality and person, and he was a great player."
Beltran previously interviewed for the Yankees' managerial job in 2017 and was eventually hired by the team as a special adviser to GM Brian Cashman in December 2018.
Of course, Beltran has no managerial experience at the big-league level, but what he does have, according to Jackson, is a vast knowledge of how the game is played, along with where the game is headed, thanks to his 20-year career as a player in the bigs.
"There is a certain etiquette that you learn from being around for 20 years in the major leagues like Carlos has," Jackson said. "There is a right way to use the analytics and have them implemented into the game and I think he's got that understanding. I think he's got just enough old school and new school to understand it.
"[Beltran] would manage the people and manage the press and the pitching staff. That's really what you need to do is manage the people and get along with the people in the front office to make sure you get everything out of everyone who is around that can give to you."
Beltran, along with Tim Bogar, Derek Shelton, and Eduardo Perez, is in the mix for the Mets job, with former Mets skipper Mickey Callaway now joining the Angels as their pitching coach.
Jackson and Beltran have developed a friendship with one another through their time together with the Yankees, and Jackson, a longtime ambassador for the the team who told The Post that Beltran is "like family," believes the former outfielder would take the Mets job.
"Whether he takes the job I don't know. I think he will if he's offered it," Jackson said.