PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) – Wearing a faded blue New York Mets cap, Omar Minaya strolls through the stands at spring training and finds a seat behind home plate.

Even in casual clothes, plenty of people recognize the team’s new general manager.

“Thank you, Omar!” one fan shouts, loud enough for the outfielders to hear.

It’s a genuine outburst that covers all the bases: Thank you for building a potential contender, for restoring some credibility – for making the Mets matter again.

“I think we’ve given the fans some hope of the situation getting better,” Minaya said. “To me, it’s not only about 05, it’s about the next couple years and the plan that we have in place. The fan base feels like we have a plan in place and they are starting to believe.”

At last, there’s really something to believe in, and Minaya has a lot to do with that.

After signing Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran during a stunning offseason makeover, the kid who grew up just a long fly ball from Shea Stadium is suddenly the king of Queens.

“This really is not a job for me, it’s a privilege,” Minaya said.

Last fall, all it seemed to be was a daunting task.

When he took over on Sept. 30, 2004, the Mets were finishing their third straight losing season – despite another lofty payroll. Shea Stadium was lifeless, besides the boo birds taking out their frustrations on an injury-depleted team every night. There seemed to be little hope for the near future.

The first big thing Minaya did was hire rookie manager Willie Randolph. Then he traveled to the Dominican Republic at Thanksgiving and dined with Martinez, charming the free-agent pitcher and selling him on a new era in New York.

Martinez soon bolted from Boston for a $53 million, four-year contract with the Mets. A hefty price for a 33-year-old ace with a history of shoulder problems, but quite a coup for Minaya.

“The most important thing was to be able to bring Pedro on board,” he said. “Pedro is definitely the difference-maker in what happened this winter for us. We’re talking about a long-term plan and he gave our brand, the Mets brand, recognition and value. Then players wanted to come here.”

Minaya then quickly turned his attention to Beltran, pushing hard for more than a month and making a recruiting trip to Puerto Rico with owner Fred Wilpon. They landed the All-Star center fielder with a $119 million, seven-year deal.

All of a sudden, the Big Apple was buzzing about the Mets for a change, just as much as the Yankees.

“They were honest. They let me know what plans they had for next year and the one after, what I was going to do in the lineup. They made me feel wanted,” Beltran said. “I know Omar for a long time, since he was with Texas. He’s a straight guy. He talks to you with the truth.”

New Yorkers wouldn’t have it any other way, and Minaya certainly knows that.

Born in the Dominican Republic, his parents moved to New York when he was 8 and he became a star catcher at Newtown High School in Queens, about 2 miles from Shea. He was drafted in the 14th round by Oakland in 1978, but after a few seasons in the minors he found his true calling with Texas as a scout and talent evaluator, still his favorite part of the job.

“You have to project the future,” Minaya said. “I think you have to really visualize. You have to make decisions on uncertainty, and that’s a challenge.”

He signed Sammy Sosa and helped Texas develop slugger Juan Gonzalez. Even Minaya’s boss had big days ahead – President George W. Bush owned the Rangers back then. After a stint as assistant GM with the Mets, Minaya became baseball’s first Hispanic general manager when he took over the Montreal Expos in 2002. Owned by the other 29 major league clubs, the Expos had a tight budget and limited resources. But under Minaya they enjoyed consecutive winning seasons and were tied for the NL wild-card lead in late August 2003.

“There you were managing not just a baseball season,” Minaya said.

A little more than a year later, he was back in New York, hired to turn around a foundering franchise.

Some of Minaya’s best moves this past winter were the quiet ones. When other teams came calling about talented youngsters such as third baseman David Wright and shortstop Jose Reyes, he didn’t bite. With the Mets in dire need of defense at first base, he traded for Gold Glove winner Doug Mientkiewicz. Miguel Cairo and Chris Woodward were brought in to provide much-needed depth. And when starting pitcher Steve Trachsel went down with a back injury this spring, Minaya quickly made a deal with the Dodgers for Kazuhisa Ishii.

“I’m never comfortable,” he said at the start of spring training. “The word comfortable is not in my vocabulary.”

AP-ES-04-01-05 2024EST