Steve and the Tank! - Talking Baseball With Mets GM Omar Minaya

Friday, July 20, 2007

Talking Baseball With Mets GM Omar Minaya

Along with Kathleen and Linda, Steve and the Tank were honored to listen to and meet Mets General Manager Omar Minaya in Midtown Manhattan. I was enroute to this special meet and greet event when the NYC Steam Explosion occurred.

Omar talked about his humble beginnings after an introduction by and during a question and answer session with a New York Times writer. His cousins were involved in the fighting against former dictator Rafael Trujillo. He got his first pair of sneakers after his Mom won in a numbers game with the numbers 545. He and his family moved to the City where he was eight years old. His Dad worked on the Brooklyn docks. Omar compared his life with all of its good and bad choices to Z in "A Bronx Tale". The only differences is that Omar lived in Queens and thankfully made the right choices.

Omar was all City at Newtown High School. (Steve's Dad, Big Al, is also an alum of Newtown.) Omar was drafted was drafted in the 14th round by the Oakland As. He traded his aluminum bats of high school for the wood bats of Oakland's minor league Oregon affiliate. Though he didn't get to the majors, he played baseball in Tuscany, Italy, for two years. He came back home and worked as a model, bouncer, and actor appearing as a catcher in an ad with Willie Randolph. There paths would cross later in life. To make ends meet, Omar even applied to be a flight attendant.

He got his break in baseball's executive ranks as Dominican Republic scout for the Texas Rangers. He discovered Sammy Sosa in 1986. He also discovered Fernando Tatis and Richie Arrellia who he is most proud of drafting in the 25th Round. While working for the Rangers, he got to know George W. Bush, the owner long before he became a born again Christian and President. "He was great to work for. He has a passion for baseball." Omar said that President Bush wanted to be Major League Baseball's Commissioner instead of President. They are still friends and thinks the Mets will go to the World Series this year. (President Bush thinks Detroit will win the World Series which I respectfully disagree with.)

Omar has had to make some tough choices over the years. He was interviewed eight to ten times as the mandated "minority" interviewee when the job was going to someone else. For instance, he was offered the Co-GM spot of the Mets alongside Jim Duquette in 2003. His dream job in his home town but he chose to stick to his guns and wait for the top job. Though "very enticing", he didn't want "half a GM." This was an anguishing choice as he had only six employees in the soon to be relocated Montreal Expos. Six employees is a fraction compared to the Mets and other clubs have about 150 or so employees. Omar only had 72 hours to field a team with no trainers and the lowest payroll. He respected the tradition of the Montreal Royals with Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente. Even though the Expos were based in Montreal, they played many of their "home" games in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Omar weathered all the challenges and his patience and persistence paid off when he became the Mets GM in 2004.

During the question and answer session, Omar clarified that he does not have a riff with Manager Willie Randolph. Willie is very loyal to his friend like hitting coach Rick Down who was fired last week. It was a very tough decision. He admired Willie's professionalism and there is "nothing going on" between them. He only disagrees with Willie if the bullpen isn't warming up or putting Smith in the game who is a better fielder than Feliciano when the other team is trying to bunt. Omar works with the manager to pick the coaches but reserves the right to say no. Omar says other GMs sometimes put the coaches out there without consulting the manager. Speaking of tough choices, Omar broke the news to the crowd that he had to trade his friend Julio Franco to the Braves. Julio wasn't getting enough bats with the Mets.

Steve and the Tank asked questions about Jose Reyes and Gary Sheffield, respectively. I complimented him on the great job with Ralph Kiner Night last Saturday at Shea. Moreover, he has succeeded in internationalizing the Mets both locally and abroad. I asked him about "idiots" like Gary Sheffield referring to Latin players being "easier to control" than African Americans. I asked him if Sheffield is missing the boat in the fact that (a) Dominican and other Latin players play year around in beautiful weather in baseball academies like the Mets instead of playing other sports and video games and (b) buscones (finders) are always looking for talent. Omar said that Sheffield is a loyal teammate according to sources he has heard. Omar did not condemn Sheffield as harshly as I hoped but I got the point. The New York Times writer agreed that it would be a news day when Sheffield didn't say anything. Steve asked about Jose's good points. Omar agreed that his improved at bats comes with maturity and good coaching. Jose's new contract makes it easier not to focus on individual things and focusing on winning games.

Omar likes to be direct in working with his colleagues. For instance, if Omar wants a player from another team, he will call his counterpart and ask "Is Dontrelle (Willis) available?" instead of beating around the bush. As for current deals, Omar is not going to trade Carlos Beltran for Grady Sizemore. He said he was in Trenton to watch the Yankees Philip Hughes pitch a rehab start. While there, he spoke to his crosstown counterpart Brian Cashman. He said that Roy Oswalt of the Astros is not available but Omar would be interested in him if he were. Omar is looking for an eighth inning pitcher and someone sarcastically shouted out Kyle Farnsworth. It wasn't me but it got a few laughs. No one is perfect and Omar admitted to not taking David "Big Papi" Ortiz when he had a chance.

Bottom Line: Omar is an example of "taking a chance, getting outside that box." Omar is the living embodiment of the American Dream. Let's go Mets!

Posted by the Tank reporting Live from Midtown Manhattan.

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Friday, July 20, 2007 4:44:56 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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