Pelicans In The Post-Season: Joe Espada and Carlos Mendoza

Joe Espada and Carlos Mendoza were once an infield tandem with the Pensacola Pelicans while spending the twilight of playing careers 14 years ago as part of Pensacola's Independent League baseball team.
Thursday night, the two friends will be in opposite dugouts at Yankee Stadium in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series.
They are both regarded among rising coaching talent in Major League Baseball.
Espada is the bench coach of the Houston Astros. He interviewed Monday for the Chicago Cubs manager job. Mendoza is in his second season as the New York Yankees quality control and infield coach.
"I am so proud of both of these men. They worked all their lives to get to where they are today," said Wanda Lewis, owner of Wanda Lewis Realty in Pensacola, who had both former Pelicans players stay at her home as host family during their seasons together.
"They are both hard working, good guys," she said. "Both of them are now married with families. We have always stayed in touch. They are like my sons."
It's been quite a journey for both from the summers they turned double plays, carried their equipment, and signed post-game autographs at the former Pelican Park at University of West Florida's Jim Spooner Field. They have become part of Pensacola's amazing history in professional baseball.
Mendoza, who turns 40 in November, is a Venezuela native who played 13 professional seasons at various levels in various leagues, including three summers with the Pelicans. This is his 11th year in the Yankees organization, rising from the entry-level Gulf Coast League to the big leagues.
Espada, 44, a Puerto Rico native, played college baseball at the University of Mobile, then was selected by the Oakland A's in the second round of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft. He reached Triple-A before retiring and starting his coaching career in 2006 with the Miami Marlins organization.
"They were both just such professionals in every way, both such gentlemen," said Quint Studer, who took over team ownership of the Pelicans in 2002 before the transition leap to affiliated baseball in the Double-A Southern League as Pensacola Blue Wahoos owner.
"When they played here, neither one of them were like, 'Hey, we're in the Independent League. Isn't this bad?' "Not at all," Studer said. "They were great with fans, great with teammates.
"Carlos was a player who got a taste of the major leagues at a very early age (made MLB debut at age 23 with the New York Mets), so he had that background. And Joe was one of those guys who was a manager on the field. He was such a natural born leader that all the players gravitated to him."
Studer attended Tuesday's Game 3 of the ALCS in Yankee Stadium and exchanged text messages with both coaches.
Lewis was on a business trip in Houston in May when the Yankees and Astros played a series at Minute Maid Park. She met with Espada and Mendoza and had photos taken. They have stayed in frequent contact since their playing days with the Pelicans.
Now, their teams' post-season clash has her emotionally torn on a rooting favorite.
"They are always teasing me that they are my favorite sons," she said, laughing. "When I met them in Houston, I said, 'Y'all got me in a spot. All I can say is may the best team win.' And the same thing now."
When Espada reached the major leagues as a Marlins coach, he sent Lewis a replica jersey with a letter thanking her for helping him realize his dream to reach the big leagues.
"That meant so much to me," she said. "Players who stay with host families often call you 'Momma or mom.' And to this day they still call me, 'Momma.'
"It is amazing where they are today. When they were here, they were making about fifteen hundred a month. I cooked for them and I remember I used to tell Quint that I cooked steaks that night, so they will have some home runs."
In addition to Mendoza and Espada, the Yankees' star shortstop, Didi Gregorius, played the first half of the Blue Wahoos' 2012 inaugural season in Pensacola with the team as then-Cincinnati Reds prospect.
Studer said he's hoping to arrange for both Mendoza and Espada to return to Pensacola during the winter for a reception with other former Pelicans and Blue Wahoos players.
Zach Vincej, who made his MLB debut with the Reds, after two years with the Blue Wahoos, and is now with the Baltimore Orioles, lives in Pensacola during the off-season with his wife, a Pensacola native.
"All these guys have a nice spot for Pensacola," said Studer, whose new book "The Busy Leader's Handbook" is now No. 5 on the Wall Street Journal's Bestsellers List. "They enjoyed being here. They stay in touch.
"You look now at  Ray Chang over in China with Major League Baseball's initiative there. People in Pensacola don't realize what a national and international brand the Blue Wahoos have created. You have the Yankees broadcasters, for example, during a game mentioning Pensacola and the Blue Wahoo when talking about Didi, or when Twins played them. You think about what kind of brand that creates."