Nimmo, Plawecki shake off nerves
Brandon Nimmo and Kevin Plawecki were among the Mets making their first Opening Day starts Thursday. So they arrived at Citi Field early. Not crack-of-dawn early, but way early enough. So both had plenty of time to sit and anxiously fret when a light rain wiped out batting practice.
“I was a little anxious. I wanted the game to get here. And then for it to be raining and they cancel BP,” said Nimmo, the 13th-overall pick in 2011. “Just sitting here and getting ready for the game made things even longer.” Yeah, tell Plawecki about it. “Pretty early day today. It was hard not having BP,” said Plawecki, taken 35th-overall as a supplemental pick in 2012. “A lot of sitting around, a lot of nerves, good nerves. Very anxious.”
See the common theme? But it continued for both, for Nimmo in the leadoff spot and for Plawecki hitting seventh in the order that slugged out 12 hits in the Mets’ 9-4 victory. Nimmo went 2-for-3 with a walk, a hit by pitch and two runs scored. Plawecki also was 2-for-3, with two walks, two runs scored and one RBI.
“Outstanding games by both of them, honestly,” said Mickey Callaway, who also made his debut as a major league manager. “I saw poise. I didn’t see them pressing at all. They were relaxed. … Then for players to be able to go out there on Opening Day and not let the atmosphere and things bother them, they’re the players you want.”
Both players had to win their jobs in spring training. Catchers Plawecki and Travis d’Arnaud form something of a job share behind the plate. Nimmo, serving as the leadoff hitter Thursday, won out over Juan Lagares in spring training to essentially earn the right to hold down center field until Michael Conforto is ready. But Nimmo doesn’t see this as an audition.
“That’s what people talked about last year,” Nimmo said. “It’s the same mentality. Just have fun, prepare as best you can, when you get out there, just play. Trust your instinct.”
And the day was just as special for Plawecki.
“Really special,” Plawecki said. “Sitting around here in the locker room, a lot of nerves, a lot of good nerves obviously. Then once game time hit, it was just playing the same game we’ve been playing. Obviously a very fine day and one I’ll remember for a long time.”