In his position with the Yankees, Beltran said he helped bridge the gap among the front office, the analytics department and the players. He said that he had also learned the best way to present information to a team and that he had mentored young teammates, especially Spanish-speaking players. Beltran, who was raised in Puerto Rico, is the Mets’ first Latino manager.
Before he decided to pursue the Mets’ job, Beltran said, he reached out to people he trusted, like Astros Manager A.J. Hinch, about what it’s like to lead a major league team. He also asked for advice from some of his former Mets teammates, Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes and Pedro Martinez.
Beltran’s hiring was somewhat surprising given his contentious history with Mets ownership. In particular, he had a falling-out with Jeff Wilpon, who is the chief operating officer as well as part of the ownership family, in 2010 over a decision to have knee surgery.
Beltran said on Monday that he and the owners had moved past that trouble. His wife, Jessica Beltran, who attended the introductory news conference with the couple’s three children, added: “Sometimes we have miscommunication with our family that separate us. I think this is not anything different. I think we had our moments when we didn’t communicate well when Carlos was a player with the Mets organization, the ownership.”
Beltran will replace Mickey Callaway, who was fired last month after failing to make the playoffs in both of his seasons at the helm. At the news conference, Beltran was asked frequently how he expected to interact with Van Wagenen, who had never hired a manager before.
“You have to understand that when you’re a manager, literally your G.M. has to be your best friend,” Beltran said. “You have to communicate with him in a way where you have to be honest, have to be open, have to be able to have tough conversations.”
The team has not announced the coaching staff and has no timeline for completing that process. Beltran said that he wanted an experienced staff and that Terry Collins — who was the Mets’ manager from 2011 to ’17 and currently is a special assistant to Van Wagenen — had reached out to offer assistance.