Conforto the odd Met out
Michael Conforto arrives at the ballpark every day with the same mindset.
Tune everything out but the task at hand. Don’t worry about playing time. Ignore the past and the future. His only focus is the present.
“I don’t need to think about all the extra stuff out there,” said Conforto, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2014, before the Mets’ 8-1 loss to the Marlins on Saturday night at Citi Field.
When it was determined late in spring training Conforto would start the season with the Mets because of Juan Lagares’s oblique strain, Mets manager Terry Collins sat down with the young outfielder and laid out the plan for him. His role would be as a pinchhitter, and a fill-in starter, giving everyday outfielders Curtis Granderson, Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes a day off when needed.
In five games, he’s gotten just four at-bats. He grounded out as a pinchhitter Saturday, reached on an infield single Friday, was by a pitch on Thursday, and flied out on Wednesday.
“I expected that coming in, and having to earn time out there, and just do what I can coming off the bench,” Conforto said. “It’s difficult, but it’s just kind of the situation that we’re in.”
He has talked to a number of people about pinch-hitting, from coaches to teammates. They’ve emphasized the importance of watching video of relievers he may face, and just making sure he is ready. The best advice he got came from Michael Cuddyer, the one-time Met who is now retired.
“Cuddyer told me, ‘Treat it like your first at-bat.’ That’s what he liked to do,” Conforto said. “Not feeling like you have to go up there swinging at the first pitch, more thinking I want to find my pitch, and I want to drive it somewhere, as opposed to going up there thinking I have to be super aggressive and making something happen right off the bat.”
Collins would like to get Conforto in the starting lineup soon, but he didn’t single out a day when he definitely would.
“I’ve got to get him in there, but this time of year it’s really hard to find these spots,” Collins said. “But we hope to play the next couple of days.”
Conforto had a strong spring training, hitting .300 with three home runs, five RBIs and a .873 OPS in a team-high 60 at-bats, regaining the confidence he seemed to lose last year.