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A Life In Baseball
The Mets' Omar Minaya, the sport's first Hispanic general manager, has always had the game in his blood, first as a young playing prospect, then as a prescient scout and now as an executive responsible for an entire team
Michael Marsh
From the Print Edition:
Tom Berenger, July/Aug 2007
(continued from page 4)
Minaya also shrugs off the criticism because, for him, it all goes back to baseball being a world game. "The globalization of the game is huge," he says, unable to stress it enough. "It's good for baseball and I think it's a reflection of the game as a whole. If you don't understand that, you are at a competitive disadvantage."
It turned out that the criticism was unfounded as the Mets won a division title in 2006—their first since 1988—and their first playoff berth since 2000. Suddenly, Minaya and the Mets had the World Series in their sights. After sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the divisional series, it was closer than ever. Then came the Cardinals and the exciting seven-game series that left them short of the World Series.
In a process that Minaya describes as ongoing, he spent the off-season bolstering the Mets lineup even further, most notably by acquiring outfielder Moises Alou. Although many of his moves were considered minor in comparison to those in previous years, Minaya entered the 2007 season confident the Mets could attain their goal of a championship.
He had his detractors. Baseball analysts—from ESPN and Sports Illustrated to Baseball America and FoxSports.com—predicted that the Mets would be contenders again and would almost certainly reach the playoffs, but that their starting pitching would prevent them from winning the World Series.
"All winter long we were told that our starting pitching wasn't strong enough," says Minaya. "I think the real strength of this team is our offense and our speed. I think it's our defense, especially turning double plays, and it's our bullpen." Minaya also believes the team has those intangibles needed to win. "The fact that this team has played together and won together is huge," he says. "There's chemistry as a group and a lot of clubhouse leadership."
Yet baseball is a funny sport and the best team on paper doesn't always take home the trophy. There are streaks and slumps, and always an injury or two to overcome. "It's such a long season with so many ups and downs," Minaya says. "You want to sustain your ups for as long as you can, and keep your downs from being that long. The bottom line is it's a marathon."
Then there are the baseball gods, who need not be aroused, especially with idle talk of celebratory cigars when the season isn't half over. Yes, the goal is to win the World Series and, yes, cigars will be in order when the time comes, but Minaya won't tempt fate. "I haven't set one aside yet," he says. "But I can tell you, it's going to be something special."
Photo by Marty Umans
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