Wally Backman wants the world to hear his side of the story.

Backman, the Central Oregon resident hired as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Nov. 1 and fired four days later following revelations that included two arrests and serious financial problems, has agreed to an interview Thursday with ESPN.

”I’m just trying to get the whole truth out,” Backman said Tuesday from his home in Prineville.

He added that he felt he had been unfairly criticized by the news media, and that accounts of his problems have been presented ”without all the facts.”

Backman confirmed that he will be interviewed by the all-sports network in Prineville on Thursday, and that the interview is scheduled to be aired the same day on ESPN’s 3 p.m. (PST) SportsCenter program.

He declined further comment for the record.

Backman, 45, was seeking his first major-league managing job. The Oregon native, an infielder drafted out of Beaverton’s Aloha High School in 1977 by the New York Mets, played 14 big-league seasons and was part of the Mets’ 1986 World Series championship team.

He managed for seven seasons in the minor leagues, and in 1998 he was manager of the Bend Bandits of the independent Western Baseball League. This season, his first in the Diamondbacks’ organization, Backman was named minor-league manager of the year by The Sporting News after guiding Class A Lancaster to the best record in the California League (86-54).

A longtime Prineville resident, Backman’s background in baseball instruction includes working with teams at Crook County High School.

He lives in Prineville during the off-season with his wife, Sandi, and their children.

The day after Backman was hired by the Diamondbacks to manage their major-league club, his legal troubles – including two arrests, one after an altercation with a female family friend in Prineville in 2001, the other for driving under the influence in Kennewick, Wash., in 1999 – and financial difficulties that included a bankruptcy, came to light in a story reported in The New York Times.

Following that story, the Diamondbacks said that while they had not been aware of Backman’s problems – managing partner Ken Kendrick told The Arizona Republic that the team had asked former employers about Backman but had not performed a financial or criminal background check – they did not intend to fire their new manager.

But two days later, the Diamondbacks announced that they were letting Backman go, replacing him with former Seattle Mariners manager Bob Melvin.

Bill Bigelow can be reached at (541) 383-0359 or bbigelow@bendbulletin.com.