How the Mets Got Red Hot

By Sean Gregory

A perplexing poster hangs in the office of Omar Minaya, general manager of the New York Mets, the newly minted champions of the National League's Eastern Division. It's a promo for A Bronx Tale, a 1993 film starring Robert De Niro about a boy who gets mixed up with the Mob. Why is the word Bronx--as in Bronx Bombers, as in New York Yankees, as in Evil Empire--displayed prominently at the Yanks' crosstown rival? It turns out that Minaya, who grew up a fly ball from Shea Stadium in Queens rooting for the Mets, loves the movie for a line that captures his own unlikely ascension: De Niro, who plays a bus driver, barks at his Mob-bedazzled son, "The workingman is the tough guy."

Minaya, 47, the son of working-class parents, slogged his way up the baseball ladder, becoming the sport's first Hispanic general manager in 2002 when he took over the baseball junkyard known as the Montreal Expos, after being rejected half-a-dozen times for top jobs. The low-budget Expos overachieved under Minaya, earning him a shot with the big-market Mets. In just two years, he has remade a last-place organization lacking credibility into a paradigm of tried-and-true New York. The Mets are a diverse, dramatic (37 come-from-behind wins), free-spirited team that has relegated the Yankees, who also clinched a play-off spot last week, to second billing. Like last year's champs, the Chicago White Sox, the Mets have been that other team in town. But this year the Sox--both the Chicago and Boston versions--have folded, increasing the possibility of a Subway Series. The silver lining for baseball fans elsewhere: two New York teams to hate.

Minaya's formula is straightforward: use the vast resources of Mets owner Fred Wilpon to buy top players, but most important, trust your gut when filling out the mix. And skip the stuffing and sweet potatoes. On Thanksgiving Day 2004, Minaya trekked to the Dominican Republic to nail down his top target: free-agent pitcher Pedro Martinez, fresh off a Series victory with Boston. "It's a family day, and you show up in a place where you're not supposed to be, just to talk to me," Martinez recalls. "That was more than enough." The four-year, $53 million-- contract offer helped too.

The Martinez signing had two benefits for Minaya. Not only would Pedro draw Hispanic (and other) fans to Shea, but his leadership would attract other top-tier Latino players to the Mets. Carlos Beltran, coming off a torrid postseason for the Houston Astros, signed a seven-year, $119 million contract one month after the Martinez deal. "Beltran wouldn't have considered us without Pedro," Minaya says. Before this season, Minaya traded for Beltran's close friend, slugger Carlos Delgado, who has hit 38 home runs. Delgado eased Beltran's burden in the lineup, contributing to his MVP-caliber resurgence.

Minaya isn't just a checkbook GM. He has clearly added value, following what he calls his "Montreal model": look for cheap players no one else will touch. Based on last year's stats, second baseman Jose Valentin and outfielder Endy Chavez should be in the bush leagues. But Minaya trusted his scouts, and each player has delivered. Valentin hit two homers in the division-clinching win over Florida.

Minaya's mix of Spanish-speaking stars, including leadoff sparkplug Jose Reyes (who leads the majors in stolen bases), and goofy white guys like closer Billy Wagner and third baseman David Wright has yielded a team chemistry that includes healthy doses of loving abuse. "It's a beautifully vicious clubhouse," says former Met pitcher Ron Darling, now a team broadcaster. The players energetically hurl insults--especially at Wright, 23, the All-Star whose looks have inspired female fans to wear "Mrs. Wright" jerseys. "He thinks he's God's gift to women," says pitcher Tom Glavine. "We have to remind him it's totally about the uniform, not him."

The Mets have skipped through the regular season. After they started 10-2 in April, no division foe, not even the 14-time defending division champion Atlanta Braves, has mounted a threat. For the play-offs, the only concern is the health of New York's starting pitchers--particularly Martinez. A calf injury put Pedro on the DL in August, and he has been inconsistent since returning. Glavine missed two weeks in August with blood clots in his left ring finger but insists he has never felt stronger in his 20-year career. A weak National League offers the Mets an opening, and although the young arms in Detroit, hot hitters in Minnesota or the Yankees' deep talent would be tough Series matchups, the Mets' bats can outslug any other lineup.

A first title for the Mets in 20 years? A nice final frame for "A Queens Tale."