30
2011
Paul DePodesta On What Makes A Championship Player
An article by 
Last night, I had the pleasure of being on a conference call with Paul DePodesta, the Mets’ Vice President of Player Development & Amateur Scouting. He was kind enough to field questions from me and several other Mets bloggers, and I was able to get the following question in:
Joe DeCaro, Mets Merized Online:
A few years ago while in San Diego, you made/said the following quote in an interview:
”Makeup is often what separates the championship players from the rest of the pack. Nobody on talent alone is a championship player.”
Please expand on that a little and explain what you meant by makeup. Is it something you look for early in the pre-draft process, or is it something a player develops with the rest of his game over time?
Also, in your opinion, how does Jose Reyes rank as far as makeup goes and being a championship-type player.
Paul DePodesta, New York Mets:
For me, makeup can mean an awful lot of different things. It certainly can mean work ethic, character, selflessness. I think there are a lot of things that we look for when we talk about makeup. Certainly in that quote, those were some of the things I was referring to.
Some of the great players I’ve been lucky enough to be around over the years are guys that have tremendous ability but also outwork everybody else, too. I think that’s part of what makes them great. They also have a tremendous distaste for losing and also play the game with a lot of passion — they do everything with a lot of passion. They want to be out there, they want to compete, and they want to do what it takes to win. And they’re willing to make sacrifices today that they know might not pay off for them not only tomorrow but maybe not in a year, maybe not in two or three years, but eventually will pay off for them. I think that’s a special kind of mindset and certainly not everybody has it.
And there are plenty of players in the big leagues who are extremely talented and who work pretty hard and are very good and productive players, but I think what will cut off and separate guys is that will combined with that passion. And in that sense, it’s absolutely something we look for in the draft.
The minor leagues are a real grind, a real grind. Not a whole lot of players get through it, and it’s not always just because of talent. They deal with an awful lot of failure, they deal with a lot of fatigue, they deal with a lot of selfishness on the part of other players — everybody’s goal isn’t necessarily to win, it’s to get to the big leagues in front of their teammates, in front of the guy that’s playing next to him. It can be a difficult atmosphere, so we absolutely look for guys who can not only survive in that atmosphere, but really thrive in it and do well where others might get capsized.
In terms of Jose Reyes, it’s probably not my place to comment. Since I’ve been with the Mets, I’ve spent the bulk of my time on the road; I think I’ve been in New York for all of ten days and have only gotten to see a handful of games live, as opposed to TV, but I can tell you this: he certainly plays the game with a tremendous amount of passion, one of the keys I was talking about earlier. He loves to play, and I think he brings up the people around him, and I think that’s pretty obvious, even when you’re just watching on TV. That’s certainly an admirable quality.
As always, I want to thanks the Mets for the opportunity to paticipate in these types of functions which allows fans like us to gain more insight on the organizational philosophy of the team, as well as a better overall perspective.
James Kannengieser and Alex Nelson did the tedious work of transcribing the entire conference call which you can read on their site, Amazin Avenue. Thanks, guys.
You can also listen to our friend Kerel from On The Black who asked DePo about the upcoming Moneyball movie, which I thought was pretty interesting. Stephen Keane of the Kranepool Society also had a great question regarding the recent drat. Michael Baron of MetsBlog also has a summary recap of the call.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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podesta was a gm for 2 years, did have a good 2004 followed up by a horrendous 2005, then was FIRED in just 2 years after creating a mess in the dodgers org. with bad signings. he talks about “championship” player and the only guy worth mentioning is blake dewitt?? wow..another saberguy who thinks beyond the game imo..
Ya, because we all what a stable work environment the McCourts provided. Maybe D3PO didn’t wish enough positive vibes on the team.
You would think that ONE of those bloggers could have asked Depodesta about his very unimpressive draft record. WTF somebody asked him if he has a man cave??
LMAO! I think MMO will not be invited back for anymore interviews after asking such a silly question. You guys kill me sometimes.
Liz: MMO didn’t ask the man cave question. MMO asked the question in which this blog is about.
I wish someone would have addressed the upcoming IFA signing period.
How does anyone here think teams wind up getting guys like Vladimar Guerrero, Mariano Rivera, Jose Reyes, Edgardo Alfonzo, Pedro Martinez, Carlos, Gonzalez, Miguel Caberera, Starling Castro, K-Rod, Astrubal Caberera, Jose Bautista, Anibal Sanchez, Felix Hernandez, Jair Jurgens, Robinson Cano, Martin Prado…………………………………………………..
I dont trust this guy for nothing. I think he’s overrated and too much is made about him for a guy who hasn’t accomplished anything noteworthy in his career. I already have huge problems with this draft.
…….because of all the time you’ve seen them play in the majors already?
Eric: How come his time with the Oakland Athletics doesn’t count?
As GM in 2 years he made it to the playoffs the same amount of times as Omar did in 6 years you know?
I’m not saying he’s god’s gift to anything, but I mean what do we have to lose? It’s not like the Mets have seen glory days in the farm system?
jesus christ.. give it a rest will you!!!!!??? are you seriously praising this guy and comparing to omar minaya?? are you an A’s fans? what the F877 is your obsession with a team that never won nothing, made the playoffs a few times just to get bounced aroun in the wild card division series, NEVER really had any chance to go further, jesus.. go to the A”s blog or something.. god you’re such a loser bro…
alex: Good morning!
I just want to make sure I am clearly understanding you.
Are you suggesting that Paul DePodesta’s time with the Oakland A’s where he had essentially the same role as he does with the Mets does not count?
Also, you do understand that DePodesta made the playoffs once in 2 years as GM and Omar made them once in 6 years… so that’s actually a very fair comparison? Why isn’t it?
But Jessep, Alderson should have signed HEALTHY pitchers. There were HEALTHY pitchers available. We just had to pay them double and they would have come here.
Right now we could have a rotation of Garland, Harang and Wong.
Then we could chalk it up to bad luck and injuries.
Monkeyball works once ever 23 years (with the largest payroll in the NL) How can you be so sure a new approach will do better?
I’m confused. I’m wrong for saying to sign Harang because he got hurt(i never said Garland or Wang just to make that clear), when Chris Young made a total 4 starts the whole year?
harang’s injury seems to me like a fluke injury. It wasn’t a arm injury, it was a foot injury. And he’ll be back after the all star break, which is when? two weeks? So he will wind up only missing a few starts.
Not only that, but he’s been pitching good all season long, with the exception of 3 starts, which inflated all his numbers.
I think I used the wrong words when I said I wanted to the Mets to sign “healthy starters”, what I should have said was, “we should sign pitchers that are the LEAST LIKLEY ones to get hurt”. There that’s better – Harang started more games by himself the last two years than Young and Capuano did combined, so he was the least likley one to get hurt, which would have made him the better signing, even if it was for more money.
Pitchers are always at risk of getting hurt, which is why you try to decrease your chances of injuries by going with the safer options.
the good thing about “makeup” and work ethic is that it can be measured by performance, meaning stats.
Ummm yeah, whatever you say. What is Milton Bradleys career WEP? Work Ethic Percentage?
hiw poor work ethic is reflected in his numbers not being as good as a comparably talented player who works much harder, obviously.
if what i am saying is not true, then what value is makeup? if it isnt reflected in performance?
there are plenty of players that work very very hard but are awful. it isnt about working hard or being a good person, it is about results and performance. it doesnt matter why someone is good, talent, or work, as long as they are good.