NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Carlos Mendoza has spent nearly 30 years in baseball, and now, he's at the pinnicle of his career: he was introduced Tuesday as manager of the New York Mets.
Mendoza, 43, is the teams's fifth manager since Terry Cllis left after the 2017 season. The Venezuelan-born father of two sons has been given a three-year deak with a club option for 2027. He had spent six seasons as a Yankees coach, the past four as Aaron Boone's bench coach.
He knows that the expectectations are high and he has high goals for the new season and beyond. Coming from Venezeula, he had to overcome a language barrier and much more to get to this level in his baseball career, and all of these experiences made him who he is today. This makes him feel like he can relate and help the younger Latin players who are following his path.
So what was it like when he found out he got the job?
In an interview with Mets broadcaster Keith Raad (above) at Citi Field Tuesday following his introductory press conference, he said, "It was incredible, it's hard to describe because it was a dream come true, getting that call finally, you know, after almost 30 years grinding, not only in the minor leagues as a player, as a coach, but then as a big league coach too and going through a lot."
