I knew the criticisms, I had heard about them and the coaches here talked to me about it. For Conforto's father, watching his son reach the highest level of his sport has been a treat. He made a goal-line stop to force the opposition to settle for a field goal, swinging the game's momentum. It overlooks his personal history which, if anything, makes the Mets prospects rise even more impressive. So Ive taken that with me. Its not my call, all I can do is prepare myself and show up in New York and wherever Im at and show up with the right attitude and the right work ethic and my play on the field will speak for itself. But he missed five weeks with a hamstring injury this year, when he was batting under .200 as late as Aug. 5 and didnt lift his average above .230 for good until the penultimate day of the season. Mike Conforto was a linebacker on Penn State teams that went to the Gator, Fiesta and Sugar Bowls in the late 1970s, and he passed on many of coach Joe Paterno's favorite sayings. IRON MIKE: METS PROPSECT CONFORTO HAS TOUGHNESS TO SPARE. It was Week 3, just before halftime of a Penn State win against Maryland in a nationally televised game at 6 hitter, Conforto was moved up to third ahead of slugger Yoenis Cespedes in mid-April when the Mets started their second trip. (March 1, 1993) Birthplace: Woodlinville, WA Bats/Throws: L/R Ht: 6 1 Wt: 211, Signed with the Mets: on July 11, 2014, receiving a $2,970,800 signing bonus, Bio: Selected by the New York Mets in the. Sometimes youll have a rough patch and youll start to think you need to change a lot of things, but, like I said before, sticking with that routine and being consistent, I think that goes a long way in not freaking out or panicking when things arent going so well How do you view your role on the big league team? Michael Conforto has never won a World Series. The Mets entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 2-1, but Jeff McNeil quickly evened the score with a leadoff home run. (Age 22-145d, LF Michael Conforto assigned to Binghamton Mets from St. Lucie Mets. MLB rules also state if a player gets hit by a ball in the strike zone, that pitch should be ruled a strike. What was the most important thing you learned in the minors? "It was nice of him to wait for me," Michael Conforto, the father, said. One coach for a regular Mets opponent said he asked his front office what they were watching when they continually presented him with advance scouting reports that identified Conforto as a minus-defender. And with that impression comes the curiosity over his arrival date. Getting myself into the right position to throw was a big thing for me that helped me start throwing guys out and be more accurate. Michael Conforto is on Instagram at mconforto8. I think the Mets have really liked my ability to get on base. When his son ran across the diamond to left field to start the game, that's when it truly hit him: Conforto's father says his son tends to play better when he's in the stands. The game was not even three innings old and the Mets had five runs and seven hits, and never let up. Maybe it's just that it calms me a little bit. That wont be necessary, but its going to be a while before we find out just how many millions and how many years Conforto gets and from whom hell get them. Born: Mike has 1 job listed on their profile. He was hit by a pitch above an eye during a youth game, sending him to an emergency room and leaving a small hairless area in his right eyebrow that remains visible. A series of debilitating knee injuries limited his potential and kept him in the trainers' room for much of his senior season in '78. The son agreed, and a little while after giving his team all manner of comfort and support, Michael Conforto the son talked about "really, really special" it was to have his first four big-league hits in front of his father. As a professional, since his debut last July 19 for Class-A Brooklyn, hes at .311/.384/.472. His .216 first-half average seemed so out of character that the Mets even considered sending him back to Triple-A. I actually got to see him early on his sophomore year. And his B material, and his C material, and whatever letter much deeper into the alphabet you want to use to describe material such as delivering Homer Simpson-esque puns to describe Max Scherzers free agency (A material would have been Boras singing quite accurately as it would have turned out Teams that dont want to pay $100 million musnt tooooouch) and offering a malapropism mashup of Bob Seger and rock analogies to describe Corey Seager. Hes not nearly as rambunctious as Pete Alonso, but Conforto knew enough to go with it when Alonso raced towards him and ripped off his shirt to begin a 2019 stretch drive tradition following Confortos walk-off hit on Aug. 9. "Frankly, I was not the all-American linebacker at Penn State or anything," Mike Conforto said by telephone last week from Washington, "not the accomplished guy that some of my good friends were there. NEW YORK (AP) Two years ago, before he was a budding star for the New York Mets and among the big league batting leaders, Michael Conforto returned home after his first summer of professional baseball and listened to some advice from his mom. Born: 3/01/1993 in Seattle, WA. Huge congratulations to Michael Conforto from two St. Lucie Mets season ticket holders. Left shoulder dislocation. New York Mets placed LF Michael Conforto on the 7-day injured list. He went to the College World Series in 2013, in his sophomore year at Oregon State. But the 22-year-old leftfielder is, after all, the son of a Penn State linebacker. Data Provided By Michael Conforto was drafted by the New York Mets in the 1st round (10th) of the 2014 MLB June Amateur Draft from Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR). Conforto grew up on tales of the late 1970s Nittany Lions and their trips to the Gator, Fiesta and Sugar Bowls. Draft: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 1st round (10th) of the 2014 MLB June Amateur Draft from Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR). The innings passed, the hits kept piling up, and the old linebacker watched it all unfold, and his quiet pride was palpable. I think it would be fair to say he was a football player who played baseball, until he got to Oregon State, the elder Mike Conforto said. Posted by Mark Wogenrich at 12:21:39 PM on June 17, 2013. New York Mets recalled LF Michael Conforto from Las Vegas 51s. We were very pleased. Draft: 2014, New York Mets, Ronda: 1, Seleccin The fact that people are looking for lefty bats makes him even more appealing.. After Dominic Smith took a knee during the National Anthem in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake prior to the game against the Marlins Aug. 26, Conforto said he supported Smith but wouldnt kneel. In slow motion, it definitely looks like Conforto deliberately stuck out his elbow so he would get hit by the pitch. 100 AB)Drove in 19 runs in 17 games vs. the Phillies, the most by any player in 2018, including a careerhigh six RBI on September 17 at PhiladelphiaOnly Mike Piazza (22 RBI in 2002) and Darryl Strawberry (20 RBI in 1987) have had more RBI against Philadelphia in a season in Mets historyHomered in his third at-bat of the season in his return from the Disabled List on April 5 at WashingtonWas recovering from surgery, performed on September 6, 2017, to repair a tear in the posterior capsule in his left shoulder after suffering a dislocated left shoulder on August 25, 2017Clubbed a Statcast-estimated 472-foot homer on August 27 at Wrigley Field, the longest home run by a Mets hitter since Statcast began tracking data in 2015Homered in three-straight games for the first time in his career, September 8-11. Michael Conforto may have stuck his elbow out over the plate to win the game. Even then, the decision to award Conforto with a hit-by-pitch came down to home plate umpire Ron Kulpa. Im so excited about this team. If the play looked bizarre in real time, well, that's because something else may have been going on. ", No, the Phillies are not terrible, tank you very much. And that left-handed swingConforto might not quite be Will Clark, but when hes rolling and spraying the ball to all fields, its hard not to envision him as a franchise player capable of anchoring the middle of a lineup well into the back half of this decade. She always said she wasnt the most talented, but she worked the hardest. "Some people have it. Having made the jump from Double-A directly to the major leagues last July 24, he is the starting left fielder for the defending National League champions and is hitting .301. Positions: Leftfielder, Rightfielder and Centerfielder Bats: Left Throws: Right 6-1, 215lb (185cm, 97kg) . The Mississippi State freshman is a rare ambidextrous pitcher, the most notable since Pat Venditte appeared in 61 major league games from 2015-20. Nickname: Forto. New York Mets placed LF Michael Conforto on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2018. The Mets' booth was disappointed the game ended on that play. "It really is a tough road regardless of how much talent you have," Mike Conforto said. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Im kind of speechless. Chose Oregon State because of "it's a great program with great coaches and a great school. He became the 1,000th player in Mets history and finished the season with a .270 average, nine homers and 26 RBIs. "Doesn't take long to be yesterday's news," he said. Mike Conforto's crowning football moment came in 1977. New York Mets signed OF Michael Conforto. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. Fast track. A guy that doesnt get himself out on pitches Just be a middle of the order guy that helps the team win. New York Mets recalled Michael Conforto from Las Vegas 51s. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. If he wants to come here, bat third and make $1 million, let me know, one source from a second-division team said with a laugh. Conforto's father says his son tends to play better when he's in the stands. But he has struggled in his small sampling against big league lefties, hitting .188. They were five rows behind home plate Saturday night, in David Wright's seats, taking in a thoroughly remarkable Game 2 of Michael the Met's big-league career one in which the most anemic offense on earth morphed into the '27 Yankees, spanking out 21 hits, including home runs from one of the newest Mets, Kelly Johnson, and Daniel Murphy and two from Lucas Duda. "Joe would always tell us that you're never as good as you think you are when things are going well, and you're never as bad as you think you are when you're not performing very good," dad said. She always preached that to me. Michael Conforto had 650 hits over his career. "I talked about blocking everything else out completely blocking everything out, scouts, really focusing on beating the pitcher. Im from Seattle, so he was always who I tried to look like when I was swinging the bat. My dad is a competitive guy. Reports on his defense are mixed, but most observers believe he can hit plenty enough to justify his corner outfield position. 20,963rd in major league history) You can't pitch him a certain way. The widely held industry view of Michael Conforto transcends where he plays and for whom he works. At his best, Conforto has often looked like a potential $200 million player, but through no fault of his own, hes yet to have a full season at that level. Did a quick google search and found his signature on a statement supporting Paterno. The recovery took up the majority of his offseason, and he has since admitted he may not have been patient enough with his rehab process -- perhaps evidenced by how poorly his 2018 season started. Many thanks to him. After beginning this year as the Mets' No. pic.twitter.com/Y9pjj1S3VC, Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 8, 2021. But wait, before the umpire could signal for the strikeout, Conforto turned back to argue he got hit with the pitch. New York Mets activated LF Michael Conforto. His current contract terms are 2 yrs/$36M (23-24). It was Week 3, just before halftime of a Penn State win against Maryland in a nationally televised game at Beaver Stadium. We liked the makeup and the athleticism. STAT TO KNOWFrom 2017 to 2021, Conforto's 308 walks ranked ninth among outfielders (minimum 200 games). Conforto, whose Dad played college football at Penn State and whose Mom was an Olympic swimmer, has always carried himself with a maturity and self-awareness beyond his years. High School: Redmond HS (Redmond, WA), School: Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR), Debut: New York Mets selected the contract of Michael Conforto from Binghamton Mets. Signed with the Mets: on July 11, 2014, receiving This from a team that had lost four of five and spent the first two games of this series swinging swizzle sticks. Boras also pointed out Confortos rare Triple Crown hes played in the Little League World Series, the College World Series and the actual World Series and said I think everybody understands who, really, Michael is and what he means both in leadership to teams (and performance).. Michael Conforto spent the first seven years of his career under the bright lights of Citi Field, dealing with all of the scrutiny that comes with playing for the Mets. It's unclear whether MLB will do anything to punish Conforto or the Mets for the play. Michael Conforto had 132 home runs over his career. Perfect Game USA rates him as the No. While it didn't come to that, and he rebounded to hit .273 in the second half, it's hard not to consider where Conforto would have been without that setback. Game at Beaver Stadium over his arrival date: Mets PROPSECT Conforto TOUGHNESS. Wasnt the most important thing you learned in the stands middle of the order guy that get! 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