D-BACKS IMPRESSED BY BACKMAN FIERY SKIPPER IS POISED FOR A MAJOR GIG.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

Wally Backman knew it was a step backward.

Barely three months after being a finalist for the Chicago White Sox managerial job in 2003, Backman, best known as a member of the colorful 1986 New York Mets World Series championship team, was out of organized baseball and willing to take whatever the game had to offer. In late January, the best baseball had to offer was a trip to the High Desert managing the Lancaster JetHawks, the Arizona Diamondbacks' advanced Class-A affiliate in the California League.

``Sometimes you have to go backward to go forward,'' Backman said at the Diamondbacks' spring training facility in Tucson, Ariz., less than a week before the JetHawks broke camp in late March.

That move now has Backman on the brink of becoming a major-league manager.

Backman is among three finalists - and considered a strong favorite according to media reports - for the Diamondbacks' managerial position. Arizona is expected to announce its decision early this week, if not today, general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. told the Daily News last week.

Also still in the running for the Diamondbacks' job are former Seattle Mariners manager Bob Melvin and Montreal Expos third-base coach Manny Acta.

``I like (Backman's) intensity and I like his passion,'' Garagiola said. ``I like his philosophy that there is a fundamentally sound way to play the game and that's what he teaches his players.''

Backman was hired as a last-minute replacement for the JetHawks post when Eddie Rodriguez left the Diamondbacks to take the Expos' bench-coach job.

Before hiring Backman for the JetHawks, Garagiola acknowledged he was concerned about sending some of the organization's top prospects - including outfielder Conor Jackson (El Camino Real High of Woodland Hills), catcher Phil Avlas (Kennedy of Granada Hills) and Mike Schultz (Cleveland of Reseda) - to play for a manager who might feel he was overqualified to manage in A-ball after three years in Double-A.

``The intensity and the drive has always been there for me,'' Backman said. ``I believe that's how the game is supposed to be played and that's what I've tried to teach at every level.''

Backman's intensity earned him six ejections and two suspensions this year. A 10-game suspension for bumping an umpire, however, was based on an umpire's report submitted to the league office that contained several glaring embellishments, according to a videotape reviewed by the Daily News.

The fiery Backman turned a table in the JetHawks clubhouse after a lackluster performance less than a week into the season. He nevertheless proved himself to be a Larry Bowa-style in-your-face manager with a Dusty Baker-like compassionate side.

Former Diamondbacks farm director Tommy Jones referred to Backman as a ``45-year-old version of Jim Leyland.''

``He's an old-school manager who's in touch with today's player,'' Jones said.

Backman cites former managers Leyland, Joe Torre and Davey Johnson - whom he played for - and Whitey Herzog - whom he played against - among his influences. Backman believes his intense style and ability to run a pitching staff are among the strengths which he believes would make him a successful manager.

``I want to be a big-league manager because I want to win another world championship,'' Backman said. ``There's never been a place I've gone where I haven't done everything I could to win. I think that's an important part of development and it's what I've always tried to teach.''

Backman's teaching methods at Lancaster included a strong emphasis on moving over runners. He even asked cleanup hitters to bunt sometimes.

His emphasis on winning as an integral aspect of player development sometimes seemed a little bit out of place for A-ball, a level at which multiple pitching changes in an inning and defensive substitutions in late stages of meaningless games just aren't done.

None of that seemed to bother the parent club, though.

``I think the skills that he brings to bear are skills that will allow him to succeed at any level,'' Garagiola said. ``His game-management skills will only be enhanced at higher levels by players who can execute a lot better. Teams take on the personality of their manager and I think any team Wally manages will play hard and play the game the right way and they'll do it because they want to do it.''

Gideon Rubin [phone]

gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

JetHawks manager Wally Backman has impressed Arizona with his intensity and passion.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer