WASHINGTON One of the best hitters in the game gave third baseman Mark Vientos of the New York Mets some wisdom that has stuck with him since he reached first base against the Philadelphia Phillies last year.
Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper told him: “Hey, you got a lot of power. You don’t need to swing as hard as you do.”
During his first extended stint in the majors this season, Vientos has picked up a few basic principles, of which that is one. Thus far, everything is going great. On May 15, the Mets called up Vientos, and two weeks later, they gave him a run at third base. Vientos has slashed.339/.400/.645 with five home runs in 70 plate appearances.
For the past ninety days, Vientos’s home run total has been estimated by Mets officials and rival evaluators to be thirty, provided he gets five hundred to six hundred at-bats. However, they were worried about other stats. Could he get enough base time? Would he hit the opposite way with sliders? Vientos’ journey will continue to include finding the answers to those questions. However, Vientos’s performance during this first hot period indicates improvement.
“He looks comfortable and confident,” Mets co-hitting coach Eric Chávez said.
It was not the first time Vientos got a warning about overswinging before speaking with Harper. Mets executives spoke with him about his strength during the previous season, telling him that he only needed to get the barrel to the baseball.
It does not get much better than getting advise from someone like Harper, according to Vientos. After all, in Vientos’ opinion, it is wisdom from a potential Hall of Famer. According to Vientos, the secret is to modify those phrases to suit his strategy. Listening is one thing. It is an additional application. For instance, Vientos’ 440-foot home run on Saturday at Citi Field was the longest by a Mets player thus far this season. It resulted from a hanging slider’s level swing.
Forget that!
Fourth home run of the year for Mark Vientos pic.twitter.com/bsItJW6oFR
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 1, 2024
“It’s a fine balance between him really wanting to hit the ball too hard but then being under control to make good decisions and to not just swing too hard and foul a ball off,” Chávez said.
Of all the advancements Vientos has made, assessors find that his ability to recognize pitches stands out the most. Vientos has done significantly better on non-fastball pitches and struck out far less frequently (entering Tuesday’s game with a 19.7% strikeout rate, compared to 30.5 percent of his 233 plate appearances last year). It was Vientos’ 99th game in the majors, and he walked twice in a game on Monday for the first time.
A few weeks ago in a game against the Miami Marlins, Vientos, having finished his homework prior to the at-bat, sat on an off-speed fastball from Braxton Garrett on a 2-0 count. He hit a run-scoring single to center field with a beautiful pitch. Vientos stated that was not going to occur the previous year.
“I’d be almost, like, second-guessing it,” Vientos said. “It would have been, ‘Should I do it? Should I do it? Should I do it?’ Then I’d be in the box, get the pitch I was looking for and be like, ‘Man, I should have done it.’ The only way that happens is by failing and figuring it out. It’s OK to fail, it’s OK to lose an at-bat as long as you did it your way and not second-guessing.”
Coaches underlined that Vientos would continue to see non-fastballs when the right-hander started against right-handers later that same week in Cleveland, defeating left-hander Brett Baty. “Is this a man you believe I can sit slider on?” Vientos questioned Chávez at one point. Even the mere question thrilled Chávez.
“Just the fact that his mind is already starting to turn like that, he’s absorbing things,” Chávez said. “He just looks really, really comfortable.”
A splendid play at third by Mark Vientos pic.twitter.com/ecfeepLCQZ
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2024
For Vientos, having faith in his own ability is the key to much of his success in this short sample. That also applies to his defense. Vientos has made all the plays and appears more at ease at third base than he has in the past. He possesses a strong arm that some evaluators have noted dating back to his days as a second-round draft pick out of American Heritage High in South Florida.
“If I make a mistake, I want to make a mistake being aggressive. I don’t want to make a mistake being passive,” Vientos said. “Just saying that to myself and being locked in during the game, anticipating every play, has helped.”
The Mets needed to learn more about players like Vientos before the season started. They now know that he is resilient and self-assured. After all, the team left Vientos off the Opening Day roster, added J.D. Martinez late in spring training, and initially assigned Baty, who was later demoted to Triple A, to third base. All of that came after Vientos had few major league opportunities the previous year. To his credit, Vientos never stops making music.
The Mets will eventually discover what is real and what is merely a good stretch, as well as how sustainable some of the results are. Additionally, they will have ample time as it appears that he will not be leaving anytime soon.
“When I was 10 years old, there were already coaches putting the pressure on me, saying, ‘You could become this, you could become that,’” Vientos said. “I’ve had pressure on myself for a long time. And right now, I just think that this is enjoyable. I am here. I am living my dream. Everything else was pressure. Drafted carries pressure. It was pressure to play in the minor leagues and to perform every year. I feel like I have been doing this for a long time, so why am I going to keep putting pressure on myself at my age? I asked myself. This is enjoyable. I want to enjoy myself, so let us see what happens. What could possibly go wrong? That is my perspective on it.
“I am not saying this is a joke to me. Obviously, I take this very seriously. But this is just, like, I am trying my hardest to see what I can do for the team with no pressure.”
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
