Major League Baseball, not unlike the other major professional sports leagues, is largely a copycat circuit. As analytics and other advances in player development change the landscape of the game, the new age mantra is simple: if you can’t beat them, emulate them.

The Mets have taken that sentiment to heart over the past two winters, luring away the Triple-A manager from the previous season’s World Series winner to lead one of their own farm clubs.

In 2018 it was Tony DeFrancesco who came over from the Houston Astros to manage the Las Vegas 51s. Now, the Mets have hired Kevin Boles, a member of the Boston Red Sox organization for 11 seasons, to serve as the skipper of the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

“I couldn’t be prouder of those guys,” said Boles, who at various points managed all but eight members of Boston’s championship roster. “It’s the ultimate goal, and to have two World Series rings from over there is just an honor. [2018] was a terrific year.”

Despite the success, Boles walked away after the minor league season ended. He would not be searching for a job for long, as his longtime colleague in Boston and Kansas City, Allard Baird, joined the Mets in November and was busy revamping the player development department when he put in a call to Boles.

“It was an interesting process because I hadn’t been a free agent in 11 years,” he said. “In the end, it’s all about the people and I had been with Allard for a long time, so when it came to potentially working with him again, it was an easy decision.”

Now that the ink on the contract has dried and the blue and orange number 20 jersey has been stitched, Boles has gotten to work learning the philosophies and personnel that the Mets employ.

On the backfields of the complex in Port St. Lucie, that means over 300 players and staff members to meet and get acquainted with. For Boles, that process began as soon as he received word that he had the job.

“There was a lot of research and reading, getting set up with the various systems,” Boles said. “You try to get to know the people they have, but until you see them out on the field you don’t really know what you’re getting into, but I’ve been very impressed with the level of talent here.”

A winning pedigree

Minor League Baseball is characterized by the perpetual search for a balance between winning and player development. Read some of the names Boles has sent to the major leagues — Mookie Betts, Anthony Rizzo, Miguel Cabrera — and it is clear that the latter has never been an issue.

Boles, however, is also uniquely qualified to say that he has gotten the absolute best out of his players over the years. Among the 240 active minor league managers, the 44-year-old enters the 2019 season with the 13th-most wins.

Between Boles and DeFrancesco, who sits at number five on the same list, the Mets have stocked their organization with coaches who bring a winning mindset.

As Boles puts it simply, “We’re going to do the best we can to win a World Series [in New York].” That culture undoubtedly starts in the minors.

High praise

Boles won’t know who he will be taking north to Binghamton virtually until the plane leaves Florida — except for one. That’s top prospect Andres Gimenez, who general manager Brodie Van Wagenen announced will open the season in the Southern Tier.

Boles will have his eyes glued to the 20-year-old throughout the rest of minor league spring training, but limited looks have already left a strong impression. The quick scouting report:

“He’s a smart player. He’s very athletic, a true shortstop with some really good actions. Offensively he’s a guy that can work the ball to all fields and play the short game. There’s a lot to like there. He plays heads up, he plays hard every day, and he’s very aware. He’s looking in for signs and trying to gather more information. He’s a very heads up player. It’s really impressive at his age, and he’s got a chance to be a special player.”

In addition to Gimenez, Boles will likely get a chance to manage other highly touted prospects such as David Peterson and Desmond Lindsay in 2019.

Staying ahead of the curve

Few organizations are more analytically in tune than the Red Sox. Between Baird, player development director Jared Banner, and Boles, the Mets have hired three of Boston’s savviest minds since the end of the 2018 season.

Although, like Baird, his career began before the analytics boom hit the game, Boles has adjusted accordingly.

“You have to embrace it,” he said. “It’s something we were doing for years in Boston. Some embrace it more than others, but the numbers definitely have value.”

As the gap between traditional instruction and data analysis increasingly gets smaller, field managers like Boles are put in a position that essentially forces them to adapt. Advanced metrics might not mean anything to a young player, so it is up to Boles to ensure that information overload is not harming anyone’s development.

“You have to be able to translate [the numbers] and understand what you’re reading, and then you have to be able to understand how you can apply it to each individual guy,” said Boles. “Some guys can handle the information and some guys don’t want as much, so that’s the test.

“I think the game is going in a better direction with a lot of this stuff, but there has to be a balance — there also has to be the work on the field. You can’t lose the individual athlete.”