Guy Conti, a longtime Mets coach and adviser, has died after a lengthy illness, The Post confirmed. He was 84. The Tarentum, Pa., native served as Mets bullpen coach from 2005-08 before becoming a minor league advisor within the organization. Conti previously worked for the Dodgers and was instrumental in Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro...
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Guy Conti, a longtime Mets coach and adviser, has died after a lengthy illness, The Post confirmed. He was 84.
The Tarentum, Pa., native served as Mets bullpen coach from 2005-08 before becoming a minor league advisor within the organization. Conti previously worked for the Dodgers and was instrumental in Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martínez’s early development.
The Dodgers had earlier signed Pedro’s older brother, Ramon, and Conti was dispatched to the Dominican Republic to scout the younger Martínez, who was very generously listed at 5-foot-11.
Former Mets coach Guy Conti has died at the age of 84. Anthony J. Causi“I got there, I was presented with 20 pitchers and there was no 6-foot pitcher in there, never mind 6-foot-4 like Ramon was,” Conti told The Post in 2015. “All of a sudden when Pedro got on the mound and started throwing the ball, it just exploded. He just jumped off the page after that and, ‘Oh my goodness, this must be him.’ And it was history from that point.”
After signing with the Dodgers, the younger Martínez referred to Conti as his “white daddy.” Conti helped Martínez begin throwing a changeup and, perhaps just as importantly, speak a new language.
“Pedro, of all the kids that came from the Dominican, knew that he had to learn English as soon as he could,” Conti said. “My wife was a high school librarian, and I said, ‘Go to my wife, and learn the language.’ He would go to her and get a word in the morning and at 4 o’clock, he knew how to spell it, how to use it, how to write it and he wanted another one.”
Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez (r.) greets Guy Conti (l.) at Shea Stadium on May 30, 2008. Anthony J. CausiThe two were reunited with the Mets from 2005-08 after Martínez signed with the club.
Conti, after his major league coaching tenure concluded, served the Mets as spring training coordinator for several years. His friendship with Sandy Koufax helped bring the Hall of Famer to camp on several occasions.
“Guy was the first one to arrive at camp every morning and the last one to leave,” former media relations director Jay Horwitz said.