20 questions with Ray Navarrete

MiLB.com: How exciting is it being in the Mets organization, since you grew up a Mets fan?

RN: It's awesome. I grew up a diehard Mets fan. The Mets and the Yankees rule this place, so it's the coolest thing ever.

MiLB.com: Who did you look up to as a kid?

RN: Darryl Strawberry, and still to this day I look forward to meeting him. I had Howard Johnson as a hitting coach at one point ... and I just remember saving up my allowances to watch those guys play.

MiLB.com: You're a utility guy right now, and made your first-ever pitching appearance this season. How did that go?

RN: It was my first time ever. It wasn't too bad, though. I was in Triple-A and I gave up one run in two innings. I'm traditionally a super-utility guy and I want to be the best utility guy in the Mets system. I've started every position this year except shortstop and center field.

MiLB.com: Shifting gears a bit, you're the co-founder of a clothing company called "Digmi." Give us some background on how that came about.

Ray Navarette: It was something my best friend, Joe Cuervo, and I talked about all the time, starting our own business. We both studied business at Seton Hall while playing on the baseball team, it was just a matter of trying to find something that worked.

MiLB.com: The name of the clothing line, what does it mean?

RN: It was when I was in my first year in Double-A at Altoona. The (then) manager, Dale Sveum, nicknamed me and three other teammates "The Dig Me Tribe" because of how we dressed and spoke. It was a very obvious way of saying we were the young ones in an older clubhouse.

MiLB.com: So "Dig Me," became "Digmi?"

RN: We embraced the nickname, moved our lockers together and had a sign saying "Welcome to the Dig Me Tribe," above them. A beat writer in Altoona heard about it, did a feature on us, and the fans fell in love with the name.

MiLB.com: When did the actual idea of starting a clothing line pop into your head?

RN: That same offseason, I was sitting around thinking about why people liked the notion of the Tribe so much. I put two and two together and realized it was about being your own person; people liked us because we were just being ourselves. So I invited Joe to Spring Training that year and threw the idea out there one night over dinner.

MiLB.com: Did you get the reaction you expected?

RN: Not at all. I was thinking he'd look at me and tell me I was crazy. I told him we both had the managerial experience from working at Abercrombie and Fitch and I needed a partner, an equal partner in this since it was a risk. He looked me right in the eye and said, "We can do this."

MiLB.com: So you're an Abercrombie kind of guy?

RN: (Laughs) Well, the clothes are a cross between Polo and Abercrombie. I did my research and just thought if A&F can sell clothes for the prices they do, why can't I find the best materials and sell clothes, too?

MiLB.com: Right now, if you log onto your website at www.thedigmination.com, a lot of pieces are sold out. How does that feel?

RN: It's a great problem to have, I'll tell you that. Joe and I just didn't expect the supply wouldn't meet the demand. Things are leaving the shelves as soon as we get them in, so now we're learning, and managing things easier thanks to that initial overflow of orders.

MiLB.com: Who designs the clothing?

RN: Well, that's the best part of being co-founders. We get to wear so many different hats: designer, sales, marketing. We pick and choose everything, and it really gives me a chance to exercise the creative side of me.

MiLB.com: What about your teammates? How do they feel about your moonlighting as an entrepreneur?

RN: My Binghamton teammates are so great. They've been so supportive, and it doesn't hurt that I've played pro ball at all levels except the Majors, because it just gets the word out there more.

MiLB.com: Let's talk some more baseball; you said you decided as a young child you would be in the pros?

RN: I made it very clear to my family that I was going to be a big leaguer, and here I am trying to defy the odds and become one of the few who gets to make it to the Majors.

MiLB.com: You spent four full years playing at Seton Hall University. Would you rather have gotten out of there sooner?

RN: Not at all. I had the opportunity to enjoy all four years. I wouldn't change a thing. I needed those four years to get better and stronger as a player, both mentally and physically.

MiLB.com: There's a game tonight between the Mets and the Red Sox. Will you be watching?

RN: I'll absolutely be watching, and rooting for the Mets (laughs). I'll probably be lying on the couch thinking, "Man, when is my time going to come?" It means even more to watch them now, because there are guys playing who I've become friends with.

MiLB.com: You're a diehard Mets fan, your family are diehard Yankees fans. How do you all get along under one roof?

RN: Oh man, well now it's a lot easier since we all don't live together. I was devastated when Darryl Strawberry left, and I just remember them getting their time to bask in the championships of the Yankees (laughs).

MiLB.com: What's your favorite Minor League ballpark to play in?

RN: I've been spoiled to play in some great ones. Altoona is an unbelievable stadium and experience. The Corpus Christi Hooks are also in one of the coolest parks around. I'd play in those parks any day.

MiLB.com: Okay, you get to play one big-league game and you can pick the venue. Where would you play?

RN: Oh man, only one? I would love to play in Yankee Stadium as a Met. Yankee Stadium because it's probably the most storied place in all of sports, and as a Met because I want to be a part of the whole Mets-fans versus Yankee-fans experience.

MiLB.com: Finish this statement: If I weren't playing baseball, I'd be ...

RN: I'd be one of the most successful and popular business moguls in the country (laughs).

MiLB.com: Do you ever get nervous that people will think your business is a distraction from baseball?

RN: Sometimes I do feel like people think baseball's a side thing for me, but it's not at all. Baseball comes first and foremost for me. My company will grow as I grow, but even if it were the top clothing line right now, it wouldn't take me away from baseball. That is the most important thing to me, no matter what else I have going on.