FILE – Then-New York Mets special assistant to the general manager, Omar Minaya watches as David Wright plays in a simulated baseball game Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018, in New York. Omar Minaya joined the New York Yankees on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, as a senior adviser to baseball operations, the third former general manager in GM Brian Cashman’s front office.(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)
Omar Minaya left a long executive career with the Mets, which began in 1997, to take over as the Yankees’ chief operating adviser.
Minaya, 64, held the positions of senior deputy general manager (1997-2002), executive vice president and general manager (2004-2010) at Metros.
He returned to the franchise as a special assistant to the Mets general manager (2017-2020), and served as an ambassador through December (2020-2022).
Minaya was the first Hispanic general manager in Major League Baseball, when he was appointed in 2002 by the Expos.
Among the figures who have also played for both clubs are the Dominican Robinson Canó, who served as second base for the Yankees (2005-2013) and with the Metros (2019-2020 and 2022), as well as outfielder Gary Sheffield, who was with those of the Bronx (2004-2006) and those of the National League (2009).
Outfielder Curtis Granderson played for the Yankees from 2010 to 2013, before moving to the Mets in the 2014 season.
The Dominican Dellin Betances was one of the Yankees’ most outstanding relievers for eight seasons (2011-2019), leaving for the Mets in free agency in 2020.
The history between both teams also involves the position of manager, among them Yogi Berra, who directed the Yankees in 1964, 1984 and 1985 and the Metros in the 1972 to 1975 campaigns.
Joe Torre commanded the Mets from 1977 to 1981, in the stage prior to his arrival at the Yankees, a team with which he marked an era of success with the striped team from 1996 to 2007.
The current manager of the Mets, Buck Showalter, remained in charge of the Yankees from 1992 to 1995.
