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NEW YORK (AP) – At first, the New York Mets reached out to Brodie Van Wagenen simply for recommendations.
Jeff Wilpon, President and Chief Operating Officer of the United States, has already had a long relationship with Van Wagenen and has had a strong relationship with the United States.
Turned out, the more they talked, Wilpon started to think Van Wagenen himself was the right man for the job – despite his unorthodox background.
And when Wilpon late in the season suggested Van Wagenen's move to the bargaining table to take over the Mets' baseball operations, Van Wagenen was intrigued. They discussed all the parameters of a private breakfast, and an atypical idea became a reality.
"I recognize I am not the path of least resistance," Van Wagenen said Tuesday.
Citi Field, the 44-year-old Van Wagenen was introduced to the 13th general manager in Mets history. Given a four-year contract, he vowed to bring a winning culture of positivity to a stumbling organization
"Vanity," said Van Wagenen, wearing a necktie in blue and orange. "We have a lot of work to do in the coming days and weeks to build a championship roster and to put a good process in place for good decision-making. But I want to make sure that everyone is in this organization and will be relentless in our pursuit of greatness. Everyone will be working together in this effort. "
Wilpon called the GM search exhausting. He said it was a list of 40 names that was narrowed to 10-12 candidates and then three finalists. And he detailed why he and his father, Mets owner Fred Wilpon, Van Wagenen thing to replace Sandy Alderson and build a "sustainable" winner.
"He's a leader. He's organized. He's going to be collaborative with our entire staff, "Jeff Wilpon said. "He's got a plan. He's got a deep analytic background. He's got deep scouting background. He finds players before we get to see them in the minor leagues and things. His player development and scouting will be tremendously important to the entire organization.
"He's going to bring some excitement. He's going to bring a different look to things we've had from traditional GMs, "the COO added. "We're really energized by this."
Van Wagenen are big names, including stars Jacob deGrom, Yoenis Cespedes and Todd Frazier. Seven players on the team's current 40-man roster are customers at CAA Baseball, where Van Wagenen was co-head after co-founding the division in 2006.
Van Wagenen customer, Mets minor leaguer Tim Tebow – the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and ex-NFL quarterback.
Jeff Wilpon said he spoke with the commissioner's office and played Tony Clark on the hire, and there are provisions in Van Wagenen's contract "to deal with any conflicts of interest."
Van Wagenen, who had to give up his career as an agent to take the job, said he has divested his interests at CAA. He said he kept clients apprised of his plans, and many were supportive and enthusiastic about the "fresh prospects" he could bring to a major league front office.
But when buzz began to build on Van Wagenen flipping labor-relations roles, some players and rival agents did express concern.
"I'm not sure about these situations, but I'm not concerned with those people," he said.
His switch is not unprecedented.
Dennis Gilbert, Rick Hahn, Jeff Moorad and Dave Stewart, a former big league pitcher, have made the switch from baseball agent to front-office executive. NBA general managers have done the same. NFL Executive Mike Tannenbaum, vice president of football operations for Miami, worked as an agent between jobs with the Jets and Dolphins.
"Tony Clark and I have been in constant communication throughout this process," Van Wagenen said. "I'm very confident that I'll be able to work with everyone on both sides of the aisle."
Van Wagenen insisted his new job will not be that different from his old one. He said he already had a scouting network in his 18 year old as an agent, when his mission was talent acquisition – same as it will be with the Mets.
"I think this team needs to build, not rebuild," he said.
Van Wagenen voiced support for Mickey Callaway, who went 77-85 this year in his rookie season as Mets manager. GM John Ricco and Special Assistants Omar Minaya and J.P. Ricciardi, the trio running baseball operations since Alderson stepped down in late June following a recurrence of cancer.
Jeff Wilpon said he would like to get back – but that did not ensure they would be retained. Ricco, Minaya and Ricciardi all attended the news conference, but Van Wagenen said he had not made any final decisions about his staff.
"We will invest in our scouting department, we will invest in our player development, our health and wellness, and our analytics," he said. "All will be priorities. Throughout my career I've come to understand that character and makeup are critical keys to success. I want to make the backdrop of this organization. We will identify it, we will develop it and we will build around it. "
He does not anticipate an unusual level of ownership.
"They've given me full autonomy for building systems, hiring people that I want to, putting in a major league roster," Van Wagenen said. "There is no general manager, there is no president of baseball operations in the game that has the ability to write checks, so I will be working with them to determine the point of view."
Large scoreboards and smaller television screens around the ballpark displayed a welcome message for Van Wagenen, with a photo of him smiling. He has replaced Alderson with Stanford and he hopes for a new way of life.
"It's humbling to stand here today," Van Wagenen said.
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