NEW YORK — A couple of days ago in Chicago, New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos chatted with special assistant Carlos Beltran, who instructed him to think more about right-center field to simplify things at the plate.
Lately, such scenes have happened more frequently among the Mets, and it’s not just coaches or front-office officials like Beltran sharing tips. It’s veterans passing along pointers to other experienced players or younger ones like Vientos.
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There’s been more talking. More sharing. More benefiting.
The way people in the clubhouse tell it, it’s led to an environment that can help nurture a potential breakout player in Vientos and an ability to more consistently execute game plans.
Against ace Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, the Mets continued their new habit of chasing starting pitchers from games early with crooked numbers. In a 9-7 win, the Mets tagged Cole for six runs in four innings. Cole, who failed to record a strikeout, allowed four home runs, including two to Vientos. Over the last 10 games, opposing starting pitchers against the Mets have an 8.87 ERA.
The Mets lost two key players — Starling Marte to the injured list and Edwin Diaz to a 10-game suspension — and received a wobbly performance from their bullpen and yet gained a win because of their lineup’s production. The Mets (38-39), winners of 14 of their last 18 games, keep hitting their way toward .500.
“I like how they are preparing, I like the way they’re game planning; credit to the hitting coaches, obviously, being on the same page with all the position players,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “A lot of veterans being very vocal with our game planning.”
Anotha one 😮💨@MarkVientos_5 pic.twitter.com/MJssH73n2i
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 26, 2024
Early on, the Mets laid off Cole’s cutter and then did damage on fastballs in the zone. Catcher Francisco Alvarez, another important young player like Vientos, had an impressive plate appearance in the first inning in which he drew a two-out walk despite starting 0-2 in the count. The next batter, Tyrone Taylor — filling in for Marte (knee), who will be out at least four weeks (two because of rest), Mendoza said — followed with an RBI single. In the second inning, Vientos hit a towering home run to left field. In the fourth inning, Vientos did as Beltran said and hit a line-drive home run to right-center field. Both of his home runs left his bat at 108-plus mph.
That’s the thing about Vientos, who also hit a home run in his last at-bat Sunday, which snapped an 0-for-14 stretch. He’s always had power. People within the Mets often wondered what the other numbers — beyond home runs — would look like if he played every day. Vientos is finally getting that chance, and through 129 plate appearances (a good amount to see how he adjusts to pitchers but still too small a sample to make sweeping characterizations), he’s slashing .297/.349/.576.
And to think, the Mets once considered adding J.D. Davis (.654 OPS), whom the Yankees have recently installed, because of injuries after he struggled with the Oakland A’s. In mid-March, as previously reported, the Mets expressed some interest in a reunion with Davis, which would have further muddied their situation at third base at the time. In the end, Davis chose more playing time with Oakland, and the Mets ended up signing J.D. Martinez and making Brett Baty their third baseman, which squeezed Vientos out of a spot. That’s how things had gone the past couple of years; Vientos performed in the minors, but was never given the runway in the majors — until now.
“I was confident enough that I knew that it was going to work out,” Vientos said.
Scouts love that about Vientos; they say he has the perfect blend of arrogance and confidence. It’s what enabled him to believe in himself despite the adversities in his way. And it’s what has helped him thrive on big stages, like against the Yankees and Cole in front of a packed crowd at Citi Field.
Vientos uses a different adjective to describe himself: curious. He likes to have conversations. He asks questions. So it’s no wonder that he is benefiting from a veteran group led by Martinez, Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. Nimmo said after the Mets’ players only meeting last month that the group would be more accountable. That has led to more engaged meetings with players sharing their specific plan, including what worked or didn’t work the day before, which is something Martinez helped steer. It has clearly had an impact on the team’s results — and a natural trickle-down effect on young players.
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Vientos said he’s recently been asking guys like Martinez and Alonso about their approaches in a free-flowing conversation kind of way along with his talk with Beltran. He has focused on simplifying his approach, not overthinking and just thinking small. As Mendoza put it, “The power is real. When he’s thinking less. … When he’s short to the ball, he can be a dangerous hitter.” After some conversations, Vientos concurred, then applied the thought.
“It’s fortunate for me that I have so many people to ask questions and give me such good advice,” Vientos said.
(Photo: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)
Will Sammon is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering the New York Mets and Major League Baseball. A native of Queens, New York, Will previously covered the Milwaukee Brewers and Florida Gators football for The Athletic, starting in 2018. Before that, he covered Mississippi State for The Clarion-Ledger, Mississippi’s largest newspaper. Follow Will on Twitter @WillSammon
