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Guy Conti, longtime Mets bullpen coach and adviser, dies at 84
Guy Conti, who served as the New York Mets' bullpen coach for four seasons and later as a minor league adviser, has died after a lengthy illness. He was 84.
Guy Conti, a baseball lifer whose decades in the game included four seasons as the New York Mets' bullpen coach and a later role as a minor league adviser and spring training coordinator, has died after a lengthy illness. He was 84.
Conti first joined the Mets shortly after Willie Randolph was hired as manager ahead of the 2005 season. He served as the franchise's bullpen coach for four years, a tenure that included the memorable 2006 campaign, when the Mets won the National League East and came within one game of the World Series. After his time in the bullpen, Conti remained with the organization as a minor league adviser and spring training coordinator, staying in the fold in subsequent years.
Before arriving in New York, Conti worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he developed a close relationship with Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax. That bond endured long after both men left the Dodgers: Koufax often visited the Mets as a guest instructor during spring training while Conti was with the club. Conti also helped mentor a young Pedro Martinez during his time in the Dodgers organization. The Mets would later benefit from that tutelage when they signed the future Hall of Famer, reuniting the two years later.
Those relationships with two of the most celebrated pitchers in baseball history, combined with a career that spanned decades, made Conti's accomplishments the envy of many in the game. He was regarded as a steady, experienced presence in the dugout and on the back fields, someone whose work rarely drew headlines but shaped the development of players at multiple levels of the organization.
Conti's death was announced as a loss for the Mets family. He was 84.
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