The Mets introduced Luis Rojas on Friday as the 23rd manager in franchise history, with Rojas replacing Carlos Beltran less than three months after Beltran took over.
Amidst the strangeness of a second new manager press conference in the same offseason, Rojas spoke at the podium -- answering questions in both English and Spanish -- before taking part in multiple scrums with local reporters.
Throughout it all, Rojas was both direct and reflective, mentioning on numerous occasions how getting this job was his "dream."
Here are the takeaways...
On his managerial style and philosophy
"It's according to the players you have in your hands. If you have a team that can run, you run. If you have a team that can play that way, you play that way. It's according to what you have. We have a really good roster. We have really good starting pitching, we have a really good bullpen, and we can score some runs. So I feel really good about it."
How has learning from his dad, Felipe Alou, helped him?
"My father has been my college, my university of baseball. He's helped me a lot throughout this process. When I was growing up, I grew up in a big league clubhouse when he was a big league manager. And I got to see a lot of good things -- the way he operated and the way he collaborated with a staff. He also interacted with his players. I was grateful to see that."
On his relationship with the players
"My relationship with the guys on the team is also a strong one. I feel very secure with how this relationship is gonna be with our roster. We're here to win. ... I know them, but it's even better that they know me. I think that's gonna help us. ... also the staff, we know each other pretty well. With the help of them I think there's gonna be some really good chemistry on the team."
Video: Luis Rojas: "The Mets are my baseball family"
On how he'll handle criticism
"There's gonna (always) be challenges. You don't know a manager who hasn't been criticized. There's something that's gonna come up. I'm always gonna agree with the point of view of everyone. We all have different minds and I think that we're gonna look at the game different."
On what initially drew him to the Mets' culture
"When I saw that the Mets were not only developing baseball players but they were developing men -- that right away, we had an educational program. Back then it was a complex with two fields, and we got the job done. We moved into a bigger complex afterwards. ... it just kept growing and growing as I went along. Here I am."
