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JUPITER, Fla. -- Replacing an iconic figure certainly has its challenges. It also has its rewards, as Manny Colon, the Marlins new director of team travel, is learning.
Colon, who turns 32 in April, is taking over the traveling secretary role that has been anchored by one of the most respected people in the industry, Bill Beck.
With the organization since its inaugural 1993 season, Beck has spent 17 years as the team's senior director of team travel. He still holds the title, but now he is scaling back, moving away from the daily grind of coordinating the club's travel and numerous other administrative duties. In a more limited capacity, he is staying with the organization.
Manny Colon talking with Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez. (Florida Marlins)
Basically, the torch has been passed on to the energetic Colon, who also has the distinction of being the first Latin traveling secretary in MLB history. Raised in Puerto Rico, Colon has been with the Marlins since 2002, working his way up from an intern to spending time in marketing and player development.
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At one point, Colon had aspirations of being a general manager. At this stage of his career, he's found a new comfort zone as traveling secretary.
"Can I replace Bill Beck? Yeah, I can replace him, but I can't do the same things that he's done," Colon said. "He's Bill Beck. He's a legend [in the industry]. I'm my own self. It's an honor to come behind him."
In a sport that's seen a growing Latin influence, Colon also is proud to be the first person of Latin descent to have the MLB traveling secretary title.
"To me, it basically says, hey, we can do more than just play," Colon said. "We are now in the front offices, and we can make executive decisions. Like myself, I'm making executive decisions on travel, per diems."
Throughout Spring Training, Beck has been around on a daily basis, helping with the transition.
"Manny is really qualified," Beck said. "He's spent eight or nine years in the organization. He's worked on the international side, and he's worked in the Minor Leagues. He's handled all the visa and passport information, which is a big job.
"He understands the essence of the job, which is getting hotel rooms. It's making sure everybody is where they need to be, when they need to be there. He really won't have any problems with this job."
In a nutshell, an MLB traveling secretary is an everyday administrator for 25 players, the coaching staff and front office. Tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals and distributing paychecks all fall in the lap of Colon.
"You are traveling," Colon said. "You are the guy with the computer, the laptop, the guy who pays the bills, and does the everyday function of making things happen on the road."
Every Friday during Spring Training, the traveling secretary walks through the clubhouse, handing out each player's per diem check for the week.
Raised in a military family, Colon's father spent more than 20 years in the army. He was in Puerto Rico until he was about five, and every year until he was 12, he spent his summers on the island at his grandfather's coffee plantation.
"Every summer I'd pick coffee," he said.
Baseball came to him when he was about 11, and at age 15, he met current Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez, who then was working with the Carolina team in Puerto Rico. Colon tried to get a volunteer job with any team in Puerto Rico.
"We created a friendship from then, when I was 15," Colon said of Rodriguez. "He was a big influence in my career. He told me when I was looking to join the Marlins marketing department to just get in. He said, once you get in, you'll move around. He was one of the guys I called in '02."
Colon played prep baseball in Tennessee, playing center field at Northwest High School. His goal was never to be a professional ballplayer, it was to be team official.
"Guys who I went to school with, and who are still in touch with me, they laugh because I never said that I'd make it as a player in the Major Leagues," Colon said. "I said I'd make it as a front office executive. To this day, my good friends laugh. They say, 'I can't believe you did it.' It's in the high school yearbook that I wanted to be a Major League executive."
Colon, who turns 32 in April, is taking over the traveling secretary role that has been anchored by one of the most respected people in the industry, Bill Beck.
With the organization since its inaugural 1993 season, Beck has spent 17 years as the team's senior director of team travel. He still holds the title, but now he is scaling back, moving away from the daily grind of coordinating the club's travel and numerous other administrative duties. In a more limited capacity, he is staying with the organization.
Manny Colon talking with Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez. (Florida Marlins)
Basically, the torch has been passed on to the energetic Colon, who also has the distinction of being the first Latin traveling secretary in MLB history. Raised in Puerto Rico, Colon has been with the Marlins since 2002, working his way up from an intern to spending time in marketing and player development.
• Complete coverage »
At one point, Colon had aspirations of being a general manager. At this stage of his career, he's found a new comfort zone as traveling secretary.
"Can I replace Bill Beck? Yeah, I can replace him, but I can't do the same things that he's done," Colon said. "He's Bill Beck. He's a legend [in the industry]. I'm my own self. It's an honor to come behind him."
In a sport that's seen a growing Latin influence, Colon also is proud to be the first person of Latin descent to have the MLB traveling secretary title.
"To me, it basically says, hey, we can do more than just play," Colon said. "We are now in the front offices, and we can make executive decisions. Like myself, I'm making executive decisions on travel, per diems."
Throughout Spring Training, Beck has been around on a daily basis, helping with the transition.
"Manny is really qualified," Beck said. "He's spent eight or nine years in the organization. He's worked on the international side, and he's worked in the Minor Leagues. He's handled all the visa and passport information, which is a big job.
"He understands the essence of the job, which is getting hotel rooms. It's making sure everybody is where they need to be, when they need to be there. He really won't have any problems with this job."
In a nutshell, an MLB traveling secretary is an everyday administrator for 25 players, the coaching staff and front office. Tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals and distributing paychecks all fall in the lap of Colon.
"You are traveling," Colon said. "You are the guy with the computer, the laptop, the guy who pays the bills, and does the everyday function of making things happen on the road."
Every Friday during Spring Training, the traveling secretary walks through the clubhouse, handing out each player's per diem check for the week.
Raised in a military family, Colon's father spent more than 20 years in the army. He was in Puerto Rico until he was about five, and every year until he was 12, he spent his summers on the island at his grandfather's coffee plantation.
"Every summer I'd pick coffee," he said.
Baseball came to him when he was about 11, and at age 15, he met current Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez, who then was working with the Carolina team in Puerto Rico. Colon tried to get a volunteer job with any team in Puerto Rico.
"We created a friendship from then, when I was 15," Colon said of Rodriguez. "He was a big influence in my career. He told me when I was looking to join the Marlins marketing department to just get in. He said, once you get in, you'll move around. He was one of the guys I called in '02."
Colon played prep baseball in Tennessee, playing center field at Northwest High School. His goal was never to be a professional ballplayer, it was to be team official.
"Guys who I went to school with, and who are still in touch with me, they laugh because I never said that I'd make it as a player in the Major Leagues," Colon said. "I said I'd make it as a front office executive. To this day, my good friends laugh. They say, 'I can't believe you did it.' It's in the high school yearbook that I wanted to be a Major League executive."
This isn't huge news, just something to read while we're all bored at work.
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