La Chica Deportes Takes You Behind the Scenes at Winter Meetings
By Jennifer Mercedes
SAN DIEGO – There’s something special about baseball’s annual Winter Meetings. You don’t need to receive a rich contract like Anthony Rendon and Gerrit Cole to feel the good vibes either.
Here at La Vida Baseball we celebrate the journey of Latinos in baseball.
Latinos are all over the baseball industry. This week we highlighted that diversity almost nonstop on LaVidaBaseball.com and our social media platforms, especially on our show “La Vida Baseball ¡LIVE!”
It was a pleasure to showcase Latinos from almost every part of the game, whether American League Rookie of the Year Yordan Álvarez, managers Carlos Beltrán and Charlie Montoyo, assistant general managers, international baseball department leaders, agents, minor-league franchise presidents or media members.
My biggest highlight was the opportunity to visit with so many folks from different facets of the game. We visited at our booth on the second floor of the Grand Hyatt, at the bar late at night with La Vida Baseball producer Lauren Salituro. We ran into others in the lobby.
As someone who has devoted my entire career to telling the Latino baseball story as La Chica Deportes, it was rewarding to have multiple one-on-one interviews with managers I don’t get to interview in such settings on a regular basis.
During the season, the interviews at the ballpark with managers are almost always in a group session. I’ve never really focused on doing many exclusive sit-down interviews with managers.
Speaking of those interviews, interviewing Beltrán of the Mets was likely the biggest highlight of the Winter Meetings because he’s the first Latino manager in New York baseball history.
I’ve known Carlos for such a long time, covered him as a player. He has always been someone who has been really special with me and helped me out. He has always been available when I’ve wanted to interview him.
I know how proud Beltrán has always been of serving as a representative of the Latino community within baseball. That was always clear during his 20-year playing career that may ultimately land him a spot among the immortals in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Latino managers make presence felt
It’s nice to see Beltrán on an entirely new level as the first Latino manager in Mets history. He joins Alex Cora, Montoyo, Dave Martinez and Rick Renteria as MLB’s Latino managers this season.
Actually interviewing Beltrán, Renteria and all of the Latinos who have been represented in Major League Baseball was really nice for our followers. It has been rewarding to learn more about their personalities.
It was quite fun to sit down with Montoyo, a charismatic native of Puerto Rico.
Montoyo, the man who ushered Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. into the majors in 2019 with the Blue Jays, enlightened us on many subjects beyond the field.
He talked about bringing Bongo drums to the ballpark during his rookie managerial season in 2019. He mentioned how he is always playing music. It was really nice to hear how he strives to nurture a great atmosphere in the clubhouse.
Former major league infielder Jorge Velandia, a special assistant to the general manager with the Phillies, was a very good interview.
Velandia, who played parts of eight seasons in the majors with six different organizations, discussed the Latino lifestyle and culture. Some predict that he could eventually become the first native of Venezuela to serve as a general manager in MLB.
Future is bright
You never know what will happen, but it will be fun to follow his career and reconnect over the years with him at future Winter Meetings.
Only 15 years ago, Beltrán was the talk of the Winter Meetings as he contemplated whether to re-sign with the Astros or bolt via free agency to the Mets or Yankees. He chose the Mets. Earlier this offseason, the Mets chose Beltrán as their manager.
He’s excited for the opportunity, as he shared with La Vida Baseball from our set here at the San Diego Grand Hyatt.
I hope you enjoyed our coverage. We invite you to follow along on LaVidaBaseball.com and on our social media channels @LaVidaBaseball.
Thanks for letting La Chica Deportes take you behind the scenes at the 2019 Winter Meetings.