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Muniz' Wake-Up Call Lands Him in Pennant Race
by Chris Jackson, Daily Breeze
September 28, 2007
Carlos Muniz just wanted to sleep.
He wanted to ignore the phone that was ringing at 5:30 a.m. last Thursday.
The right-handed pitcher who went to Banning High, Harbor College and
Long Beach State had just completed an exhausting end to his minor league
season in the New York Mets system.
Muniz eventually answered the phone. He's pretty glad he did.
"It was Tony Bernazard, our minor league coordinator who called me,"
Muniz said from New York on Wednesday night. "He woke me up and was
like, `Carlos, you still sleeping?' I said yeah, and he said I needed
to get up and get to the airport. I asked him what for, and he said I
was coming up to the show."
Muniz proceeded to wake up his entire household, while furiously packing
his things for a flight in less than four hours.
"I woke my mom, my little brother and sister up," Muniz said.
"I called like two of my friends, but from there, it just spread.
Up to this point, my phone has been blowing up.
"I had to get a new phone."
Muniz, 26, joined the Mets in Miami for a game that night.
"That whole experience, it really didn't set in 'till I got to LAX,"
Muniz said. "Once I hopped on the plane, I just kept thinking about
it. There was a car service waiting for me. I got there 20 minutes before
game time. I missed the national anthem and everything. I kept thinking,
`I'm going to wear the uniform, I'm not going to be sitting up in the
nosebleeds. It's my time."'
Muniz had completed a whirlwind season in the minors before being called
up by the Mets, who were desperate for bullpen help in the midst of a
pennant race.
He spent the bulk of the season at double-A Binghamton, N.Y., going 2-4
with a 2.45 ERA and 23 saves. Muniz was promoted to triple-A New Orleans
on Aug. 29, tossing 52/3 scoreless innings to help the Zephyrs advance
to the Pacific Coast League playoffs. Muniz tossed three scoreless innings
in the semifinal victory over Nashville. He then gave up two runs in his
only inning of Game 2 of the championship series against Sacramento, which
New Orleans lost in three games.
After that last game ended on Sept. 14, Muniz was informed that he had
been named Binghamton's MVP and would be needed at a ceremony in New York.
He flew across the country on Sept. 15, attended the award ceremony on
Sept. 16 and then flew home to Los Angeles on Sept. 17. Three days later,
he was sitting in a major league bullpen.
"This is a veteran staff," Muniz said. "They're classy
guys, they go about their work very professionally. When I got here they
were telling me congratulations and welcome aboard. Everybody is really
close.
"Billy Wagner, our closer, said, `Hey kid, I've heard really good
things about you. Don't feel like you're not part of this team. If you
have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me.' Him, Aaron Sele, Pedro
Martinez, Carlos Delgado, everybody welcomed me with open arms.
"That's just the way the clubhouse is. Everybody respects everybody."
Muniz made his major league debut on Tuesday at Shea Stadium against the
Washington Nationals. With his team trailing, 6-3, he was summoned in
the sixth inning, taking the mound in place of future Hall of Famer Tom
Glavine.
"Absolutely there were butterflies," Muniz said. "It's
a pennant race. You've got to take that into consideration. You're not
pitching halfway through the season.
"In a pennant race, you feel the pressure. I was a little nervous,
I'm not going to lie. I've been doing this all this time. But once I got
into the game, everything just flowed."
Muniz retired the first two batters he faced before Jason Bergmann singled.
Muniz didn't flinch, though, striking out Felipe Lopez. His teammates
presented him with the ball.
The Mets kept Muniz in to start the seventh, but Ron Belliard and Ryan
Zimmerman both worked the count and drew walks. Muniz
was able to get Austin Kearns to fly out before Manager Willie Randolph
decided to call in Jorge Sosa.
Muniz said the Nationals were among the toughest hitters he's ever faced,
even if the statistics don’t show them to be a formidable force.
It was their mindset, Muniz said, that made them dangerous.
“Those guys were playing like they had nothing to lose,” Muniz
said. “These pitches we’re all throwing are quality pitches,
they’re down in the zone. But they’re on every pitch. They’re
hacking at everything.”
The Mets lost that game, 10-9, and the Nationals then completed their
sweep on Wednesday. The Mets, who had led the NL East alone every day
since May 16, fell into a tie with Philadelphia (87-72) when they lost,
3-0, to St. Louis in a makeup game Thursday night. Muniz and his teammates,
who have lost 10 of 14 during a monumental tailspin, wrap up their season
with the Marlins this weekend with their postseason fate hanging in the
balance.
“Every game is really important,” Muniz said. “It’s
hard not to look at the scoreboard, but you’ve still got to to go
out and be prepared. When it’s your time to shine, it’s your
time.”
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