Carlos Mendoza - Leader of OMG
Carlos Mendoza hit the ground running for the Mets. Bringing his determination and grit to the team. Leading them all the way to a National League Championship appearance.
Carlos Mendoza takes the field for pregame lineup announcements. ( Frank Franklin II /The Associated Press)
Carlos Mendoza was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela on November 27th, 1979. After 13 years in the minors and independent ball, Mendoza got his first break in coaching in New York with the Yankees. Now, he is best known as the coach of the electric New York Mets we saw last season. In this article, we will go into detail about his rollercoaster journey that got him to be the leader of the most exciting Mets team in decades.
MILB Career
Mendoza’s own baseball career never landed him in the majors, in fact, he never made it above triple A, but he still pushed for over a decade to stick in the game he loved. Mendoza was signed as an international free agent by the San Francisco Giants for his debut season in 1997. At the time, Mendoza was 17 years old. He debuted for the Salem-Keizer Volcanos (Low A), where he struggled posting .208/.288/.496 splits and playing all over the infield. By 19 years of age, Mendoza found himself in AA, despite being five years younger than the average player. This chance to prove himself was spent trying to post similar splits to his debut performance.
Mendoza battled to keep the dream alive until he turned 29. After 13 years of minor league baseball, with stops overseas and independent baseball, Mendoza rejoined the Yankees organization as a coach. He ended up hanging up the cleats with the following career numbers: .232/.316/.628 with 19 career home runs.
Coaching Career
Yankees
Mendoza smiles for picture day. (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)
In spring of 2009, Mendoza joined the coaching staff as a member of the Staten Island Yankees before moving up to the Charleston RiverDogs. With a short interim of playing in the Venezuelan Winter League in the 2009 season, Mendoza immediately jumped back into his role on the Yankees minor league staff following the completion of the VWL. In 2011 he got his big break. While it was back down in the Florida complex league, Mendoza served as the manager for the Gulf Coast Yankees. After one season, Mendoza returned to Charleston to manage the team. From 2012-2017 he served as a defensive instructor before finally getting his long-awaited call to the big leagues.
Within two years in the majors, Mendoza was named the Yankees bench coach. He thrived in this role, working directly under manager Aaron Boone and coaching future hall of fame players like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. After four seasons, Mendoza found himself as a highly sought after candidate for multiple MLB managerial positions.
Mets
Mendoza chats with Jessie Winker pre game. (Wendell Cruz / USA Today)
On November 13th, 2023, Mendoza was announced as the sixth Mets manager in the last seven years, signing a three-year deal. In his first year as the Mets’ manager, Mendoza got the full Queens rollercoaster ride. With the highest of highs (Lindor and Alonso magic) and the lowest of lows (0-5 start). He immediately installed his grit and determination into this team through his leadership, and it showed. They responded to adversity every single time with a league leading nine 9th inning comebacks and 41 overall comeback wins. This showed his identity through the team as it was his story, as the team showed the same resilience that he did throughout his journey to the majors. Despite lacking major league managerial experience, he led a team that nobody expected to even make the playoffs, to the NLCS. With the core now set for a decade, it will be exciting to see his growth.