In 2006 we had the called third strike then in 2007 it was the collapse. The following year was the MVP chants for Carlos Delgado but only another frustrating September. In 2009 it was a great first five weeks and then every player on the team landed on the disabled list. But what do you remember about 2010? Yes, the team had more than an average share of injuries but it didn’t define the year like it did the previous season. The end of the campaign saw the dismissal of manager Jerry Manuel and GM Omar Minaya, which is how most people remember it.

Yet, at some point in the future, people will look at 2010 as the year when the next Mets dynasty started to take root. And while Sandy Alderson will receive the credit for the next winning era, Omar Minaya laid the foundation with a lot of his 2010 moves playing a pivotal role.

Minaya wasted little time making an impact in 2010 but few realized how critical January 5 would turn out to be. After failing to come to terms with him previously, Minaya finally got knuckleballer R.A. Dickey to join the Mets. Dickey ended up being one of the few bright spots for the 2010-2012 Mets, even winning a Cy Young Award, but his real value, at least to the future dynasty, was when he was dealt for three prospects who all contributed one way or another to the team’s future reign.

There were solid acquisitions over the next few months – Manny Acosta, Hisanori Takahashi, Justin Turner and Raul Valdes were all acquired on the cheap – but nothing that added to the future champions. But it’s not like Minaya and his staff sat on their hands at this point. They were busy scouting for the upcoming draft, one that would play a major role in the years to come.

All of the injuries gave the team a top 10 pick for the first time since 2005. And while the club cashed in that time around with the selection of Mike Pelfrey, the Mets struck real gold when they selected Matt Harvey with the seventh pick of the draft. The Mets forfeited their second-round pick to the Red Sox for the signing of Jason Bay (which occurred in the cursed year of 2009 – if only they waited a few days it might all have been different) and their next two picks seemed solid at the time but neither Blake Forsythe nor Cory Vaughn ever amounted to much.

But in the middle rounds, Minaya made non-heralded selections that truly turned the tide.

One year the Mets decided to draft a leadoff hitter and selected Jason Tyner with their first-round pick. Tyner never developed into a star but he had an eight-year career in the majors, which plenty of first-rounders would love to say they did. Regardless, Minaya drafted the leadoff hitter for the dynasty when he grabbed Matt den Dekker in the fifth round of the draft. Known initially for his glove, den Dekker sparked the Mets by giving them a consistent .370 OBP hitter to place atop the lineup and helped ignite many a rally for the league’s top offense.

Greg Peavey and Jeff Walters flashed glimpses of being contributors for the Mets but the real prize came in the ninth round when the Mets selected Jacob deGrom. While Harvey made the majors faster and came with a larger-than-life personality, deGrom turned out to be every bit as good and he didn’t pose in the buff or ever attend a game in Yankee Stadium – things which endeared him to ownership. Fans loved his long hair and the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards didn’t hurt, either.

That trio of stars would have been enough to make any draft class a slam dunk success but Minaya also added two key bullpen pieces. Akeel Morris (10th round) and Josh Edgin (30th round) gave the Mets two fireballers who would close for most teams. Once the edict came down to stop using Edgin as a LOOGY, the Mets had a bullpen that was the envy of every team in the league. On the rare nights when the starters couldn’t pitch deep into the game, Morris and Edgin bridged the gap.

For the final piece of future success, Minaya delivered the international signing of Vicente Lupo. While at the time he was not considered one of the top 30 international signings of 2010, Lupo made up for the failure of previously top-ranked international guys like Alex Escobar, Fernando Martinez and Wilmer Flores. Lupo ended up giving the club their own version of Yasiel Puig, for better and worse.

*****

Right now a majority of the fans consider Minaya nothing more than a punching bag. We would all be better served by remembering that in his final year on the job for the club, he brought into the organization Dickey, Harvey and deGrom. And if any combination of den Dekker, Morris, Edgin and Lupo end up being contributors – that would be an incredible influx of talent for a guy who had to know he was a lame duck.

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