Former Mets GM Omar Minaya was a guest on WFAN on Monday and while most of the interview centered on a lot of what he covered a few days ago while at Citi Field, he did add something new with regard to Daniel Murphy.
“What we always used to say about Daniel was that this was a guy who had a chance to lead the league in hitting someday because he never, ever gives up an at-bat.”
“He plays so aggressive that it’s kind of got him into trouble on the basepaths, but you know what? Give me these types of guys with aggressiveness.”
October 14
Former Mets GM Omar Minaya was at Citi Field on Tuesday in his new role as senior adviser to the MLB Players Association.
Omar watched batting practice before the game and was asked to reflect on his role in building this Mets team, from being an assistant general manager when David Wright was drafted to selecting Tuesday’s starting pitcher, Steven Matz, out of high school.
“With a lot of these guys, I still think of them as kids,” Minaya said. “I met them as 16 and 17 year olds and to see them here in this spot, playing in October, is very satisfying.” (Dan Martin, NY Post)
He expanded a little more on Matz who you could tell Minaya had a connection to.
“We drafted him as a young lefty and to see a local kid going against one of the best, if not the best pitcher, in baseball, is unbelievable. I remember that first smile, that first handshake, from a kid like Matz.”
As for discussing all his other acquisitions like Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Jeurys Familia, Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy, Juan Lagares, Ruben Tejada and Wilmer Flores, Minaya passed on the opportunity to take any credit.
“It’s exciting just to be here,” Minaya said. “Forget about what my job is, I’m from Queens. And there’s just something special about playoff baseball around here, in Queens.”
He was happy that Tejada received an ovation by Mets fans on Monday, and for how they embraced Flores as a player.
“That moment and what Ruben and Flores have done here, they’re gonna stay in Mets fans’ hearts forever.”
As usual, Minaya was as classy as ever and it must have been a nice moment for him to spend some time at Citi in the heat of the playoffs. I seem to recall his last visit to Citi back in May, and even then he didn’t gloat, saying only that any of his drafts and international signings relied on Sandy’s development process as well. He called it a big victory for the Mets organization.
(Photo AP)
