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FEATURE
The Star Maker
By: Sean Farrell
 A
native New Yorker, Omar Minaya has an innate skill
for dealing with the scrutiny that comes with
being squarely in the focus of that metropolis’ public eye.
Now in his second year as the New York Mets’
general manager, Minaya is wary of getting drawn
into discussion of his so-called Latinization
of Los Mets, as his detractors love to refer to
the city’s National League baseball team.
What’s still perplexing to Minaya, however,
is that in this day and age such a topic has any
currency at all.
“I don’t think there’s anything
wrong when you’re getting the best pitcher
in the market in Pedro Martínez, the best
position player in the market in Carlos Beltrán,
getting a power hitter like a Carlos Delgado,” says Minaya.
He
became Major League Baseball’s first Latino
general manager when com- missioner Bud Selig
chose him to guide the ill-fated Montreal Expos
in 2002, and remains the only one to this day.
In fact, he and Chicago White Sox GM Kenny Williams
are the only current visible minorities in that
position.
Hired by the Mets the last weekend of the 2004
season after MLB announced the Montreal franchise
was being relocated to Washington, D.C., Minaya
chose Willie Randolph to manage the Mets. Williams’
White Sox won the World Series last season, one
year after he hired Venezuelan Ozzie Guillén
to manage the team, making Guillén and
Randolph the only two visible minorities among
the last 21 manager hirings in the majors.
“You shouldn’t look at what heritage
or religion a guy is, you should look at if the
guy can get the job done and that’s what
I looked at when I gave Willie the opportunity,”
Minaya says. “I know that by Kenny doing
the best job that he can and by me doing the best
job that I can, I think that hopefully those opportunities
will come.”
A minor league outfielder, Minaya moved into scouting
when he realized his playing future wasn’t
going to include a trip to the majors. He cut
his teeth in the Texas Rangers’ organization
and moved up the administrative ranks before going
to New York for a first stint with the Mets, eventually
becoming the assistant general manager. He broke
through the glass ceiling in Montreal, though
it took Selig’s initiative to put Minaya
in that position as Major League Baseball assumed
control of the financially- troubled Expos.
 Despite
tight financial constraints, Minaya aggressively
sought to improve the team he inherited, trading
for name players Bartolo Colón and Cliff
Floyd in an ill-fated bid to reach the postseason.
The Mets offered a nebulous cogeneral manager
position following the 2003 season, which Minaya
turned down. One year later, they came calling
again, only this time Mets owner Fred Wilpon offered
him the GM job outright. A native of the Corona
section of Queens, Minaya appreciated the opportunity
to determine the makeup of his hometown team.
It also allowed the father of two to spend more
time at the family home in New Jersey.
“It made a lot of difference for me to be
at home with my family and my kids,” Minaya
says. “I actually got to see my kids more
when I was in Montreal, for longer periods of
time, but at the end of the day I am sleeping
in my own bed.”
While Minaya’s wife Rachel is well aware
of the media and fan scrutiny that comes with
her husband’s job, sons Teddy and Justin
are more oblivious to their father’s notoriety.
“They don’t talk much about that,”
Minaya says. “I think what they do like
is the fact that when they do go to the baseball
games, they can have as many hot dogs as they
want and the access to the players. That, they
like.”
The Martínez and Beltrán signings
during Minaya’s first offseason helped put
the Mets back on the radar and the team improved
to 83-79 in 2005, finishing over .500 for the
first time since 2001, Minaya’s last season
before leaving for Montreal.
The free agent that got away was first baseman
Carlos Delgado, who was pursued by Minaya but
signed with the Florida Marlins, saying that he
was put off when Minaya and special assistant
Tony Bernazard tried to sell him on the team by
virtue of their shared Hispanic heritage.
“I know how we went about it and in the
heat of negotiations things can be perceived,
but I have always had the greatest respect for
Carlos Delgado and I continue to do so and I really
did not think much of it,” Minaya says.
Delgado ultimately joined the Mets when Minaya
traded for him this past offseason as the Marlins
dealt the slugging first baseman to reduce their
payroll.
Another
deal with Florida yielded catcher Paul Lo Duca,
who will replace Mike Piazza behind the plate.
“We’re talking about two very solid
players and there’s no doubt Mike was the
best offensive player the Mets have ever had,”
says Minaya, who chose not to re-sign Piazza.
“Being able to bring Paul Lo Duca in, we’re
very fortunate.”
With a team on the rise, and young stars such
as third baseman David Wright and shortstop Jose
Reyes complementing veteran talent such as left
fielder Floyd and future Hall of Fame lefthander
Tom Glavine, Minaya was able to sign free agent
closer Billy Wagner, one of the most-coveted players
available in the offseason.
“I think what we sold him on the Mets was
the fact that we are in this, we’re making
a commitment to winning,” Minaya says. “As
he was coming in, we were going out and getting
Carlos Delgado. There was proof in the pudding.”
Martínez’s health will go a long
way in determining the Mets’ fortunes in
2006. All eyes are on the three-time Cy Young
Award winner’s right big toe, which has
taken such a beating over the years as a result
of his delivery that Martínez—who
was 15- 8 with a 2.82 ERA before the injury ended
his season—feels pain with every pitch.
If a specially designed shoe helps him return
for a full season, all of Minaya’s machinations
may lead the Mets to their first playoff berth
in six years. Some baseball observers even see
them ending Atlanta’s unbelievable run of
14 straight division titles.
“It feels good that we are being considered
to challenge the Atlanta Braves to win the division,
but they are the reigning champs, and they are
definitely the favorites,” Minaya says.
“On paper it looks good, but we have to
go out there and win it between the white lines.” H
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