Mets to change the course of history with Beltran as manager
By Joe Noa
Carlos Beltran was introduced on Monday as the next manager of the New York Mets. He is a man of high character with a history of proving himself on the field.
Monday was a historic day in Big Apple sports as Carlos Beltran was officially named manager of the New York Mets. Historic in the sense that he is the first Latino and Puerto Rican to ever manage any team from New York. This kind of hits home for me as it does for many others.
Willie Randolph was the first African-American to manage any team in New York when he was hired by the Mets in 2004. Omar Minaya became the Latino General Manager when he took over the Amazins front office in 2005. There is a sense of pride that a Latino from the Mets past was brought back by ownership to manage his team.
Carlos Beltran is from Manati, Puerto Rico, an area my late parents are from. It isn’t exactly the capital city for baseball, but it is an area of hard-working people that has one of the most beautiful beaches on the island. Mar Chiquita is a semi-circular beach where rocks extend out to the open water. The waves from the ocean come high and hard, but once the water hits the rocks, it settles into a minor current as it quietly reaches the shore.
This the same Manati where Beltran decided to create a baseball academy to help his fellow residents. The academy is not only in teaching baseball skills but also educating local kids. He wanted to give the kids a better chance in life, where they may not have had any other chance.
A family man and a man of faith, he has life lessons that make him the kind of manager that the Mets needed. Beltran is someone who has gone through adversity and overcame it. He sets the example for others to dream, dream big, and never give up as he said at the press conference introducing him as the 22nd manager in New York Mets history.