'Masterful' Collins pulling the right strings as Mets charge into the World Series

As the New York Mets soaked themselves with champagne in a cramped Wrigley Field clubhouse, manager Terry Collins stood nearby in a quiet spot, arm around his wife, Deborah, another gleaming smile on his face.

After a lifetime spent in baseball working all sorts of jobs in all kinds of towns, he was finally headed to the World Series.

"When we got together I told her, I said, 'You don't know what you're getting into,'" Collins said. "This is the culmination of a lot of pain, and a lot of tears, and a lot of the things that went on, but it's well worth it."

Until the past few months, the Mets may not have realized what they had in the popular Collins, at 66 the oldest manager in the majors. Finally given a New York team talented enough to win, he has pushed all the right buttons in his first postseason as a big league skipper, expertly piloting the NL East champs to a surprising pennant.

And just think, it only took him 1,688 regular-season games to reach the playoffs.

"Baseball has been my life - my whole life. I was one of those guys that started playing when he was 4 or 5," said Collins, whose father died just before spring training. "So it's a special moment for me."

For the Mets, too. Back in the World Series for the first time in 15 years, they will play the AL champion Royals beginning on Tuesday night in Kansas City.

Collins, no doubt, is a big reason for New York's success.

He made several pivotal and gutsy moves during Game 5 of the NL Division Series at Dodger Stadium, sticking with struggling ace Jacob deGrom early and then going to rookie Noah Syndergaard for his first career relief appearance in the seventh inning.

Collins also called on closer Jeurys Familia for a six-out save - even though Familia's rare turn at bat cost the Mets a better opportunity to extend their lead.

After some tense, pressure-packed moments, New York advanced with a hard-fought victory over Zack Greinke, and general manager Sandy Alderson said Collins did a "masterful" job.

Then, during a four-game sweep in the NL Championship Series, Collins turned the Mets loose on the basepaths even though they ranked last in the league in steals this season. It paid huge dividends against a Chicago Cubs team that had real trouble holding runners.

And he kept playing slumping first baseman Lucas Duda, who rewarded him with a home run and five RBIs in the Game 4 clincher.

"He's always very clear on what he expects of you," Mets playoff star Daniel Murphy said. "You can't ask much more as a player."

Collins is enjoying the ride.

When his team clinched the division title in Cincinnati, he came back onto the field to celebrate with Mets fans who made the trip, spraying them with champagne. He did the same following Game 5 in Los Angeles, even getting a kiss on the cheek from an overjoyed man.

And after returning to New York following the sweep against the Cubs, Collins took his wife to dinner on Thursday night. Patrons gathered for a salute and, quite literally, made him the toast of the town.

"The response at the restaurant was incredible - and I've eaten there a lot," Collins said.

The silver-haired Collins has shown his sense of humor to the media more and more during his five years in the Big Apple.

It is a sign of his transformation from an old-school manager with a previous reputation for being fiery and uncompromising, to one who more resembles a spunky grandfather with baseball savvy.

"Forty-five years and here's my first chance to do this," Collins said on Friday. "The one thing I said when I took this job, I was going to enjoy managing a lot more than I did in the past."

Collins still gets excited and speaks his mind. But he has mellowed some, and developed a strong relationship with players on a Mets club that always gave him effort even when it was struggling the past few years.