Omar Minaya General Manager – Montreal Expos

Imagine being named General Manager of a professional baseball team that is scheduled to be eliminated in one year and only draws an average of 4,000 fans per game. What a great job?

Omar Minaya thought just that. Being named the first Hispanic General Manager proved to be a great idea for everyone involved. For Omar, it provided an opportunity to get a monkey off of his back. He was considered a great talent scout, but limited in administrative skills. That’s only because he never had the chance to prove himself in this area.

Once he accepted the job, he filled 90 positions in 3 short weeks. But that’s not all. He pulled together his team and addressed the issue of being around for only a short period of time. He told his employees they may not be able to control their fate in Montreal, but they do have a say as to whether or not the franchise succeeds regardless of the city it is in. Omar stressed that it’s up to us in how we handle ourselves and that they all have a tremendous opportunity to prove people wrong.

And they did! Omar started dealing. While he couldn’t spend any money on better players, he had prospects in the minor leagues to trade. With a lot of creativity, Omar put together deals that brought star pitchers and players to Montreal. The results are staggering. Montreal is now drawing fans that number 13,000 for some games. Montreal is winning and is in contention for a wild card playoff spot.

Contraction? Don’t mention that word to Omar Minaya. To him, the franchise is here to stay. And Omar is being mentioned as a candidate for Major League Executive of the Year!

Congratulations Omar Minaya- our Titan Profile of the Month. You have shown us that no matter what the market conditions are, there is still a way to win if you have the right attitude and conviction.