Cora on Beltrán: 'He's a student of the game'

NEW YORK -- It took the Mets almost a month to hire a new manager after dismissing Mickey Callaway on Oct. 3. Following a process that involved no less than three rounds of interviews with team officials, the job went to Carlos Beltrán, a former All-Star who played for the Mets from 2005-11 but has not coached or managed in professional baseball. From the outset, Beltrán sought the guidance and perspective of his friend and fellow Puerto Rican, Alex Cora, who has spent the last two seasons as manager of the Boston Red Sox.

Cora believes the willingness to seek advice bodes well for Beltrán.

“He asked a lot of questions,” Cora said, in Spanish, by phone from his hometown of Caguas, Puerto Rico. “We stayed in touch and I’m really honored that he grabbed the phone to get in touch with me. That tells you a lot, because Carlos was a superstar, but at the same time, he realizes he doesn’t know everything.”

Beltrán and Cora were teammates on the Mets from 2009-10. They both played for Team Puerto Rico in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics. (Beltrán played in each of the first four World Baseball Classics; Cora also served as the general manager of the Puerto Rican team that finished second in the 2017 tournament.) Beltrán retired after winning the 2017 World Series with the Houston Astros; Cora was the bench coach on that team.

Cora encouraged Beltrán to present himself to the Mets as he is -- nothing more, nothing less.

“That’s the most important thing,” Cora said. “I think organizations prefer people to be sincere and frank and not try to be something they’re not.”

Cora had just one year of coaching experience in the Majors under his belt when he was hired by the Red Sox in the fall of 2017. However, he had managed and served as a general manager in the Puerto Rican Winter League. Beltrán finds himself as a big league manager after spending just a year as a special advisor to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.

As far as Cora is concerned, the lack of experience should not be an impediment to Beltrán’s success.

“He’s a student of the game. He has incredible instincts,” said Cora. “Working in the front office with Brian Cashman opened his eyes to aspects of the game like player evaluation, the relationship between a manager and a general manager, how to deal with expectations. So even though he hasn’t had the experience of being in the dugout as a coach or a manager, I think the experiences he’s had throughout his baseball trajectory will allow him to be successful in this new job.”

A nine-time All-Star, Beltrán played 20 seasons in the Majors with seven teams. The 1999 American League Rookie of the Year Award winner could end up in the Hall of Fame after finishing his career with a .279 batting average, 2,725 hits, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBIs, 312 stolen bases and a .350 on-base percentage in 2,586 games.

In his final season as a player, Beltrán was praised for his willingness to mentor his Astros teammates. Cora witnessed first-hand the impact Beltrán had on Houston's young players.

“He wasn’t afraid to have a tough conversation with his teammates,” says Cora. “That’s what he did in 2017 and I think that’s going to help him do his job well.”

With the Mets in win-now mode after finishing with an 86-76 record in Brodie Van Wagenen’s first year as the club’s general manager, Beltrán will be subject to intense scrutiny in a market where every move is magnified. Cora, who works in perhaps the only market that rivals New York in that regard, thinks Beltrán will be just fine.

“Being genuine, responsible and transparent is what you can control,” said Cora. “If he does that, he’s not going to have any problems.”

Two years ago, Cora became the first minority manager in Red Sox history. Beltrán is the first Latino to manage the Mets. With Beltrán’s hiring, there are now five Latino skippers in the Major Leagues, including four with Puerto Rican roots: Cora, Beltrán, Dave Martinez of the Nationals and Charlie Montoyo of the Blue Jays.

The group has represented its home island well: Cora won the World Series in 2018, his first as a manager, while Martinez just led the Washington Nationals to their first championship in franchise history in his second season.

“I feel really honored to be part of that group,” said Cora. “We all became Majors League managers in different ways, but I think we all have the ability.”