Luis Rojas’ baseball bloodlines are shrouded by his name and playing record, but the Mets quality control/outfield coach isn’t hiding anything.
The 37-year-old native of the Dominican Republic has a father who played and managed in the major leagues, a brother who was selected to six All-Star teams — finishing his career with the Mets — and two famous uncles who along with Rojas’ father made the family baseball royalty in the 1960s and ’70s.
In the Mets organization for the past 13 seasons, he has been known as “Rojas.” But Luis Rojas came to the United States as Luis Alou — son of Felipe, brother of Moises and nephew of Matty and Jesus.
“For me, I am blessed to represent the family every chance I have,” Rojas said.
It was in the Nationals’ farm system — after previous stints playing in the minors with the Orioles and Marlins — that Rojas said he was asked to conform with his birth certificate and change his name from Luis Alou to Luis Rojas. The family name is Rojas, but his father, brother and uncles used Alou, the surname of Luis Rojas’ paternal grandmother.
Rojas is 15 years younger than his brother Moises, who played for the Mets in 2007 and ’08, retiring after an injury-plagued second season with the club. Moises Alou hit 332 homers in a 17-year major league career with the Pirates, Expos, Marlins, Astros, Cubs, Giants and Mets. Rojas spent five years as a minor league outfielder and first baseman.
“Growing up, Moises was always teaching me stuff; I looked up to him and wanted to learn stuff that he did,” Rojas said. “He was very different to learn from as far as hitting mechanics, but as far as knowing the game and what to look for in the game, he taught me a lot of things.”
Rojas finally got to share a moment on the field with Alou in 2008, albeit not as scripted growing up; Rojas was the third-base coach for the Mets’ Gulf Coast League affiliate and Alou was on a rehab assignment for the Mets.
“I saw him hit his last homer,” Rojas said. “I was coaching third base in the Gulf Coast League. That’s one of the last few games he played in his career, but it was pretty special just to be on the field with him, even though it was a rehab game.”
As quality control coach, Rojas serves as a liaison between the Mets front office and the field staff, bringing information to manager Mickey Callaway’s attention that can be implemented in the game plan. Rojas also works on positioning the outfielders and has helped in Jeff McNeil’s transition to becoming a left fielder.
“Luis was recommended to me as one of the brightest stars of our player development system and his leadership qualities were evident to me the first time I met him,” general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said.
Rojas, who spent the previous eight seasons as a manager in the Mets’ minor league system, said his early baseball memories involve his father, Felipe, managing the Expos. Only adding to the family atmosphere, Rojas’ cousin Mel Rojas was an Expos reliever, later spending 1 ½ seasons with the Mets. But it was the amount of star power in Montreal that captured Luis Rojas’ fancy.
“I was grateful to witness a lot of great players, whenever I had a chance to make those family trips,” Rojas said. “I remember experiencing that clubhouse with my brother Moises, guys like Larry Walker, who was a very impressive player for me to watch as a young kid. Wilfredo Cordero, Delino DeShields, Pedro Martinez, Ken Hill, John Wetteland. It was a very talented young team and the city of Montreal was a great city to go to every year and great fans.”
Felipe Alou, 83, still holds an advisory role in the Giants front office after managing the team for four seasons. Moises Alou is a special assistant to the GM with the Padres — and considered future managerial material.
Rojas, who was promoted to the Mets major league staff in December, isn’t ready to yet discuss the possibility of following in his dad’s — and possibly brother’s — footsteps in managing.
“I have been in this organization for 12 years and just for me to be a part of the big-league team is an honor,” Rojas said. “I got the chance to be with the staff and with the players, a great front office. I obviously [accepted] right away, it was a no doubter, I wanted to come in.”