This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

NEW YORK -- So sure was Adam Ottavino that he would enter Sunday’s game in the eighth inning that he began walking to the bullpen door, oblivious to what was happening on the field of play. Only after manager Carlos Mendoza emerged from the home dugout did Ottavino notice his manager hadn’t signaled for him. Ottavino stopped, watching as Mendoza conversed with starting pitcher Jose Quintana. Then Mendoza walked away, the crowd cheered and Ottavino returned to his seat.

In a sight rarely seen in Major League Baseball these days, Mendoza ignored analytics and managed via gut feel. The book, the binder, the computer -- they all suggested removing Quintana in favor of a right-handed pitcher. Instead, Mendoza walked to the mound and asked Quintana how he felt.

The tactic succeeded. Quintana retired the next batter to keep the game tied, allowing the Mets to beat the Cardinals, 4-2, in extra innings.

“The conviction, the way he asked for it, I was pretty confident that that was his game,” Mendoza said. “I went against the matchup, but I’m glad it worked out.”

For Mendoza, this was not his first time choosing gut feel over data. Earlier this season, Mendoza declined to pinch-hit DJ Stewart against right-hander Chris Stratton in the eighth inning of a tie game against the Royals. Harrison Bader came through with the game-winning hit. One day later, Mendoza opted for a different approach, picking Stewart over Tyrone Taylor in a game against the Pirates. On that occasion, Mendoza’s hunch directed him to the more traditional move, which also worked in his favor.

These are not uninformed decisions. They are products of the instincts Mendoza has honed over more than a quarter-century in professional baseball. Mendoza absorbs all the information he’s given by his coaches, trainers and analytics team. He also talks to his players and knows the things that don’t show up on paper -- moods, preferences, dispositions. He communicates. Then he makes a choice.

“It’s tough when you have a sheet staring you in the face with information on it,” Ottavino said. “Guys want to be empowered like that. Whether it’s a pitcher wanting to stay in the game or a hitter wanting that at-bat, I just think as players we all want that vote of confidence.”

Mendoza, too, has been empowered. Although president of baseball operations David Stearns gives Mendoza all the information a modern manager needs (and expects him to use it), Stearns has also been clear in noting that in-game decisions belong to Mendoza alone. The idea that front offices control on-field moves, which has grown steadily since Kevin Cash removed Blake Snell after 5 1/3 superb innings in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series, is not a notion with which Stearns agrees.

“That’s the job of Major League manager,” Stearns said. “We hired [Mendoza] because we believe he’s very well-situated to do that, and I think he’s proven that.”

Managing by feel won’t always work, just like managing by numbers won’t, either. But players appreciate the conviction behind Mendoza’s decisions and consider that the key to absorbing criticisms when they come.

“I’ve been very transparent with all of them,” Mendoza said. “With some of the things that I will do in games, I’m always going to use information. But I’ll use my instincts as well. … At the end of the day, you’re managing people.”