Who

Minaya has been general manager of the New York Mets since 2004. He's turned the team into a contender, thanks to the acquisition of players like Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, and Johan Santana.

Backstory

A native of the Dominican Republic who immigrated to Queens at age eight, Minaya had a short-lived career in the minors and played in an Italian league before joining the Texas Rangers as a scout in 1985. He made a name for himself when he discovered future superstar Sammy Sosa (who was traded away by then-managing partner George W. Bush), and in 1997 joined the Mets front office as an assistant to then-general manager Steve Phillips. In 2002, Minaya became the game's first Hispanic GM when he was hired by the ill-fated Montreal Expos. After being sacked by the Expos when they moved to Washington, D.C., he rejoined the Mets in 2004. 

Of note

Minaya has built the Mets, long overshadowed by the crosstown Yankees, into a contender, largely by building the club around a talented core of Latino players—most notably pitcher Pedro Martinez, infielders José Reyes and Carlos Delgado, and outfielder Carlos Beltran. But the Mets' 11th-hour meltdown in 2007 proved a major disappointment, and the team's lackluster performance at the start of the 2008 season finally resulted in the ouster of Willie Randolph as the team's manager in June '08.

Minaya has also generated some resentment for what seems to be his preference for Latino players. Anna Benson, the sometime-estranged wife of former Mets pitcher Kris Benson, has been an outspoken critic: In between attention-getting antics like attending a Mets event wearing a low-cut "Mrs. Santa Claus" outfit, she suggested that the "all-Latino" team had conspired to banish her husband to Baltimore. (The presence of prominent Anglo stars like David Wright, Billy Wagner, and John Maine makes Benson's criticisms a bit farfetched, though.) Minaya made his biggest move in early 2008 when he lured star pitcher Johan Santana to the team from Minneapolis. Santana's $150 million deal—the largest for a pitcher in baseball history—will keep him in New York through 2013.

Keeping score

Minaya makes $700,000 a year. His Yankees counterpart Brian Cashman makes significantly more—in the neighborhood of $5 million a year—but the pay gap is mitigated by the fact that Minaya doesn't have to answer to George Steinbrenner.

Personal

Minaya lives with his wife Rachel and their two children in Harrington Park, New Jersey. His oldest son Teddy is being groomed as ballplayer: In 2007 he went to Japan as part of the World Children's Baseball Fair.

No joke

Just some of the jobs Minaya had when his career as a professional baseball player didn't pan out: messenger, Chinese food deliveryman, apartment-building custodian, bodega cashier, mail-room clerk, nightclub bouncer, and butcher store assistant. He also sprayed perfume samples on shoppers at Bloomingdale's.