Pedro, Carlos, and Omar: The Story of a Season in the Big Apple and the Pursuit of Baseball's Top Latino Stars »

Adam Rubin is the New York Mets beat writer for the New York Daily News.

The two most heralded free agents in the 2004-2005 offseason, Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran, had two things in common: They both signed with the Mets--not the Yankees!--and, like Mets GM Omar Minaya, they are both Latino. Minaya openly said that he would use his heritage to attract top Latin American players, and his signing of Beltran and Martinez brought instant credibility to a much-troubled franchise and proved a microcosm of the most significant trend in baseball today--the rise of the Latin American player. Martinez, baseball's most colorful player, brought an excitement to the Shea Stadium mound not seen since the days of a young Dwight Gooden. Meanwhile, despite an injury-hampered first half, Beltran was voted by fans to the starting lineup of the 2005 National League All-Star team, and his decision to come to New York made other top free agents sit up and take notice.
New York Daily News beat writer Adam Rubin delivers a priceless, insider’s view of Beltran’s and Martinez’s first season in the Big Apple. Along the way, readers follow the controversy that Minaya generated in letting go respected veteran Al Leiter, hiring inexperienced manager Willie Randolph, and (at first) unsuccessfully pursuing free agent Carlos Delgado--who initially criticized Minaya for "exploiting" his ethnicity. We also witness the breakout season of Cliff Floyd, the growing pains of young phenom David Wright, the swan-song season of future Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza, and the many other storylines of the team that sought to recapture the magic of the Amazin’ Mets.

Publishers Weekly

Hardcore New York Mets fans will be thrilled by this in-depth look at the team's 2005 season by the Mets beat writer for the New York Daily News. Rubin captures all the highlights of what became a memorable winning season, but he focuses on what was the biggest Mets story in years: new general manager Omar Minaya's signing of two major players, pitcher Pedro Martinez and outfielder Carlos Beltran, after the 2004 season. Rubin's exploration of the impact that the three Latino men made on a team that soon became known as "Los Mets" is entertaining; the author is a skilled sportswriter who knows how to deliver a wealth of detail in an exciting way, using telling quotes, such as Minaya's admission that before he joined the team "it looked somewhat dysfunctional." Yet Rubin's observations, however true, sometimes read like a Mets press release: Minaya "had handed Pedro a four-year, $53 million contract, and the ace had done everything to justify the commitment." Overall, though, Rubin is fair in his judgments, calling Beltran a "disappointment" who was not "the commanding presence his $119 million salary suggested he ought to be." (Mar.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.