Brewers Bench Coach Revealed as 'Mystery' Candidate for Mets Manager Job and We're All Confused

Over the past couple of days, New York Mets fans have seen their options for manager dwindle, as Joe Girardi, who was once the favorite for the vacancy, decided to sign with the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies. Mets fans everywhere were disgusted, of course, after hearing the news.

However, the Flushing faithful had one surprise left in their pocket. We'd heard repeatedly about a mystery candidate, and fans have been cautiously optimistic they were looking a "bombshell" hire, otherwise known as...well, someone with a reputation for success and a big name.

On Sunday, the mystery candidate was revealed to be Milwaukee Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy. It most certainly was a mystery, as absolutely no one would have guessed that the bench coach from Milwaukee had engaged in multiple interviews with the club.

It's not like Murphy is a nobody. He's been around the game of baseball for over 30 years, and even coached the current Brewers' manager Craig Counsell when he played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Most of Murphy's coaching tenure has come in college, although he did spend some time with the San Diego Padres from 2010-2015, and was named the interim manager of the Padres in 2015 after Bud Black was fired, but ultimately was not retained.

Since then, Murphy has been the bench coach for the Brewers and has enjoyed a great deal of success with the ball club in recent years. It's incredibly common for a team to hire a bench coach to become the manager, of course. After all, the Boston Red Sox hired Alex Cora away from the Houston Astros and won the following season.

But -- how do we put this nicely -- is this a bombshell if no one outside of the midwest knows his name?

Murphy doesn't exactly seem like the most ideal fit for the big-city Mets, although he does represent an intriguing option. If Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen is interviewing him repeatedly, it's clear he's not an also-ran.

Hopefully, Van Wagenen makes the right decision here, no matter which direction he goes, and doesn't force Mets fans to be miserable for countless more seasons. Big hire. Get it right.