Carlos Enrique Mendoza (born November 27, 1979) is a Venezuelan professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He previously served as a bench coach for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Early life and playing career

Mendoza was born, raised and attended college in Venezuela. He signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

and also played for the

organization as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player or utility man is a player who has the ability to play more than one position in the field and is primarily used as a substitute. The term super utility player may be used to refer to a player who can play all or mos ...

. Mendoza played in

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

for 13 seasons.

Coaching career

Mendoza became a member of the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pl ...

coaching staff in 2009 before joining the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Char ...

in 2010. During the 2011 campaign, he served as the

of the

Gulf Coast League Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball ...

. He then returned to the RiverDogs as their manager before the 2012 season. He became a roving defensive instructor in the Yankees' organization after the 2012 season. After the 2017 season, the Yankees promoted Mendoza to their major league coaching staff as an infield coach. On November 11, 2019, he was named the bench coach of the Yankees, replacing

Josh Bard Joshua David Bard (born March 30, 1978) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He is the bullpen coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB as a catcher for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red ...

. On June 6, 2021, Mendoza was ejected for the first time in his MLB career by second base umpire Bill Miller despite not saying a word. He was likely confused with hitting coach Marcus Thames who was the one arguing. The game also saw fellow Yankees coach

Phil Nevin Phillip Joseph Nevin (born January 19, 1971) is an American professional baseball infielder, coach, and manager. He was the manager for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for 12 seasons, appearing in 1,217 g ...

ejected by home plate umpire Gabe Morales in the previous inning.

Managerial career

On November 13, 2023, Mendoza was named the manager of the

. He signed a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth year. On July 12, 2024, Mendoza was ejected from a game against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

after arguing with home plate umpire

Jeremie Rehak Jeremie Rehak (born November 13, 1987) is an American umpire in Major League Baseball. Rehak wears uniform number 35. Rehak graduated from Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, then played three seasons for the Ohio Bobcats ...

following a strike 3 call on Jose Iglesias, his first ejection as a manager. He was also ejected on September 27 in a game against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

by umpire

Ramon De Jesus Ramon Silvestre De Jesus Ferrer (born August 31, 1983) is a Dominican professional baseball umpire. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on April 22, 2016, thus becoming the first MLB umpire from the Dominican Republic. De Jesus wears ...

for arguing a strike-three call on Francisco Álvarez. On September 30, the Mets clinched a playoff spot, making Mendoza the first manager in Mets history to make the postseason in his first season, as a rookie manager. After defeating the

in the

Wild Card Series The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. A single wild card game was instituted in 2012. This became a best ...

and the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in the

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball postseason. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series ...

, the Mets season ended after a 10–5 loss to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in Game 6 of the

National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Natio ...

. On November 11, 2024, Mendoza was named a finalist for

NL Manager of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Manager of the Year Award is an honor given annually since 1983 to two outstanding managers, one each in the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner is voted on by 30 members of the Baseball Writ ...

for his successful turnaround of the Mets. He finished in third place, behind winner Pat Murphy of the

and second place finisher Mike Shildt of the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Managerial record

Personal life

, Mendoza is married to Francis Mendoza, and has two sons, Adrian and Andres.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendoza, Carlos 1979 births Living people Baseball players from Barquisimeto Baseball infielders New York Mets managers New York Yankees coaches Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players San Jose Giants players Shreveport Captains players Arizona League Giants players Shreveport Swamp Dragons players Fresno Grizzlies players Norwich Navigators players Pensacola Pelicans players Tampa Yankees players Tiburones de La Guaira players Trenton Thunder players Cardenales de Lara players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Minor league baseball managers Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball bench coaches