I can assure you that if the Mets earn a playoff spot they will look back at last night’s dramatic win as a watershed moment and once again Michael Conforto is right in the middle of a huge moment. Too bad he never gets the credit or attention he deserves because pound for pound he is the best hitter in New York baseball.
I am not trying to dismiss players like Pete Alonso, Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton as all 3 are great players but I often wonder how easily we all forget how great a hitter the Mets have in their outfielder. In the years 2018 and 2019, Conforto smashed a combined 61 homers and drove in 174 runs and this year he has picked up where he left off last year, in 93 At Bats, Conforto has an OPS of .928 meaning he is both getting on base and driving the ball all over the place.
In many ways, the career of Michael Conforto as a Met reminds me so much of Edgardo Alfonzo who like Conforto was a home grown product who put up great numbers but because of the presence of Mike Piazza he was often overlooked by the media. It is unfathomable to me how players like Alfonzo and Conforto could play in the New York media market and be so underrated.
When you look at the 2015 season, the presence of Yoenis Cespedes got tons of attention and rightfully so but make no mistake about it–the offensive surge of the Mets started before Cespedes arrived–it started when Conforto arrived. Certainly the Cespedes factor was a huge key but since joining the team Conforto has averaged an .838 OPS which is outstanding.
And last night when it seemed the Mets coupled with the bullpen choices of Luis Rojas would suffer a crushing loss he stepped to the plate and gave the Mets a dramatic win which they desperately needed and reminded me so much of the comeback wins the Mets had in the second half of last season.
And Conforto was right in the middle of so many of those comebacks a year ago but we rarely heard anything about it. Being around him I also see how his leadership skills go unnoticed because he does not lead for the attention–he leads because it is best for the team.
I define Michael Conforto as a great player who leads his teammates and supports them with an honest dialogue. Earlier in this article I compared him to Edgardo Alfonso but he also reminds me of another great Met-David Wright.
Conforto is developing into a star Met player for the history books right before our eyes. Too bad nobody in this town is really noticing it.
Please listen to Zoom audio below from last nights game!