Prior to the start of the 1986 season, general manager Frank Cashen brought in Tim Teufel, a right-handed hitting infielder from the Minnesota Twins for Billy Beane, Joe Klink and Bill Latham.

He and Backman formed a platoon at second base, and along with Wilson and Lenny Dykstra, provided a "spark" at the top of the Mets' line up, and set the table for the heavy hitters who batted behind them.

He batted .333 in the World Series against the Boston Red Sox and led off for the Mets in the famous tenth inning of Game 6 with a fly out to Jim Rice.

However, the heavily favored Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1988 National League Championship Series.

Following the season, the Mets sent him and Mike Santiago to the Minnesota Twins for Jeff Bumgarner, Steve Gasser and Toby Nivens.

After only one season in Minnesota, Backman signed as a free agent with the Mets' division rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

With slick fielder José Lind already at second base for the Pirates, Backman received most of his playing time backing up Jeff King at third.

He signed with the 1992 National League champion Atlanta Braves, for 1993, but failed to make the team out of spring training.

He joined the Seattle Mariners, but was released 38 games into the season with a .138 batting average with only two runs scored in 31 plate appearances.

Over the course of a major league career that spanned from 1980 to 1993, Backman batted .275 in 1102 games with 10 home runs and 275 stolen bases.

[citation needed] Backman led the 2002 Birmingham Barons (a Chicago White Sox double-A Southern League affiliate) to a 79–61 record.

In 2004, he led the Lancaster JetHawks, the Arizona Diamondbacks' High-A team, to an 86–54 record and was named Sporting News "Minor League Manager of the Year".

Backman remained highly regarded in the Mets organization and was promoted to manage their Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons[17] for the 2012 season.

Backman was named manager of the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the 2018 season on November 17, 2017.

He is noted for his "old school" style, as well as for his frequent use of practical jokes when delivering news of a promotion to the major leagues.