Conforto makes his much-heralded Met debut

The plan for the Mets’ 2014 number one draft pick was to get some more minor league seasoning before calling him up, but with a slumping Met offense along with left fielder Michael Cuddyer going on the disabled list, the New York Met brass decided to give this season’s stellar Cyclone alum Michael Conforto a chance to contribute some much-needed offense to the parent club.

Although he looked solid at the plate, hitting three ground ball outs along with one RBI in his July 24 debut game against the Dodgers, Conforto’s breakout game followed the next evening when the Mets’ offense came alive in a 15-2 whitewash of the Dodgers.
As a part of the Mets’ 15-run onslaught, Conforto contributed to his team’s offensive breakout, going four for four with two singles, two doubles and a walk while scoring four runs – a new record for Met rookies.

During Conforto’s 2014 rookie year in Brooklyn, he hit .331 in 42 games with 54 hits, three home runs, 19 RBIs and 30 runs scored. After an impressive spring training, Conforto was assigned to High-A St. Lucie where he started the season hitting .283 with seven home runs which earned him a promotion to Double-A Binghamton where he hit a robust .312 along with five home runs.

Just before his call-up a week ago, Conforto was named to the minor league’s All Star Futures Game, which in many cases has been a sure ticket for young players to the major leagues.
Weighing in on Conforto’s much-heralded call up, Cyclone Manager Tom Gamboa texted from Niles, Ohio his welcomed reaction to the news stating, “We knew he was on the fast track to the major leagues from the day he got to Brooklyn, due to his exceptional hand/eye coordination, bat speed, power and very advanced knowledge and discipline of the strike zone. Add to that a great make-up and you have the makings of a potential star.”

Although Conforto’s call-up didn’t come as a total surprise considering the recent media buzz, the actual notification did surprise him when 2009 Cyclone Manager Pedro Lopez informed him as he was lying on his back stretching out on the third base line in Trenton before the Binghamton Mets and Trenton Thunder game.

Noting that it was his dream to play in the major leagues since he could hold a bat and a ball, the 22-year-old Washington State native stated, “Spring training was a great start for me, brushing shoulders with the veterans. It helped me get on the right path.”

For Conforto, that path led him on a meteoric rise from MCU Park to Citi Field within a year and five days of his professional debut (July 19, 2014) in Brooklyn, as the 1,000th player to wear the orange and blue for the New York Mets.