4/13/12

Credit where credit is due (or in defense of Omar Minaya)

Omar Minaya. Just saying the name will drive Mets fans up a wall. Or to tears. Or both.

But, this is a post that somewhat praises him.

Wait, don't close the page! Stay with me. Just for a few minutes.

A lot of hubbub has been made about the Mets fielding a starting nine, with eight of them being "homegrown" players. The lone man on the outside, Jason Bay, did spend some time in the Mets minor league system in '02.

But, let's look at that starting nine that took the field, all but one of them drafted and signed by the Mets, then groomed in the minors before breaking into the show.
  1. Ruben Tejada, SS
  2. Daniel Murphy, 2B
  3. David Wright, 3B
  4. Ike Davis, 1B
  5. Jason Bay, LF
  6. Lucas Duda, RF
  7. Josh Thole, C
  8. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF
  9. Mike Pelfrey, P
Again, all but Bay were signed and/or drafted by the Mets and brought up through the team's minor league system. The curious thing to look at here is when they all came to the team and who was in charge at the time.
  1. Ruben Tejada, SS - Signed in 2006, GM Omar Minaya
  2. Daniel Murphy, 2B - Drafted in 2006, GM Omar Minaya
  3. David Wright, 3B - Drafted in 2001, GM Steve Phillips (Assistant GM Omar Minaya)
  4. Ike Davis, 1B - Drafted in 2008, GM Omar Minaya
  5. Jason Bay, LF
  6. Lucas Duda, RF - Drafted in 2007, GM Omar Minaya
  7. Josh Thole, C - Drafted in 2005, GM Omar Minaya
  8. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF - Drafted in 2008, GM Omar Minaya
  9. Mike Pelfrey, P - Drafted in 2005, GM Omar Minaya.
Of the homegrown players, all but one of them came to the team with Minaya as general manager. Wright, the only one who came before Minaya was at the helm, came when he was an assistant GM to Phillips.

But wait, there's more!

Jon Niese ('05), Bobby Parnell ('05) and Dillon Gee ('07) we're also drafted by Minaya's regime. 

That means that 10 of the 25 players on the Mets roster right now came from drafts or signings during Omar Minaya's tenure as Mets GM. That's 40 percent!

You also can't forget that Minaya also swung the deal for Johan Santana, for four players who have had little to impact on major league rosters. (He also signed Jason Bay, but this a post showing that he did some good, too!)

So when you're praising the homegrown lineup, you're praising Minaya. Just let that one sink in a bit.