Terry Collins Calls his Own PR Man a 'Puppy Dog' for Doing his Job

In the sports world, there is job of mild prominence that is either known as a “sports information director” (in college) or a “PR director” (in the pros). In either case, the role is to mediate between the organization and the public. Sometimes this involves grunt work like typing up game notes and arranging press conferences, and sometimes it involves more engrossing tasks, such as talking to reporters off the record or helping a coach manage a dicey situation in the media.

In any case the fundamental idea behind the role is that engaging with the public and managing perception is a full-time job that otherwise would be done by coaches and executives who have neither the time nor the inclination to do so.

On an average day, it’s a matter of making sure the public gets the information it wants without causing undue strain on the team itself.

Wednesday was a more or less average day in the New York Mets organization. There was a game, the Mets played in it, and during the game some players (Noah Syndergaard and Yoenis Cespedes) got hurt. Typical sports stuff.

In the postgame press conference, none of the reporters asked Mets manager Terry Collins about Syndergaard, who went to the hospital for treatment on his elbow. This is unusual, because Syndergaard’s health is definitely something Mets fans would want to know about. But it’s helpful to know that a typical postgame MLB presser lasts less than five minutes, and a lot of the reporters on site will be in the clubhouse talking to players instead.

And besides, Syndergaard threw six innings and 90 pitches, so it wasn’t odd to see him leave the game. Sooner or later, though, the word was going to get out that a Mets starting pitcher went to the hospital.

That’s where a good PR director comes in, and Mets PR man Jay Horowitz has been on the job since 1980.

What was Horowitz’s sin, here?  Asking a manager to give the public relevant and timely on-field information about the Mets?

Because here’s what happens if he doesn’t do that: Soon after, members of the media will realize they need an answer for what happened with Syndergaard, and one-by-one they’re going to start coming to Horowitz and/or Collins to ask about it, and that’s going to be an annoying waste of time for everyone involved. The obvious choice is to have Collins address it in the press conference.

Horowitz is not being a “puppy dog,” he’s being a professional. Maybe Terry Collins can learn to respond in kind.