The Mets’ youth movement took another step forward in Washington on Tuesday, when their four rookies — Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio — were all in the lineup at the same time in a major league game.
The only time that had happened prior to Tuesday was on April 4 of this season, when the group was still with Triple-A Syracuse.
Two days later, Alvarez was called up to the majors. It took five months for the entire group to be reunited.
“We all came up through the organization together, waiting for this moment,’’ Vientos said at Citi Field last weekend. “I’ve grown up in the system with these guys and I’ve seen the talent across the minor leagues, and I know our players are the best of the best. I’m confident we’ll put it all together, and we hope to bring championships here. I feel like we can do that.”
The Mets are getting a good look over the course of the final month of the season as to what they can do at this level.
Some of the results have been promising.
While they each have their own strengths, they don’t all have the same ceiling.
Ed Blankmeyer, the longtime head coach at St. John’s University, not far from Citi Field in Queens, who managed Mauricio, Baty and Alvarez during his one season as manager of the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones (while Vientos was at Double-A Binghamton) in 2021, believes one player has a chance to stand above the rest.
“Of the three, Ronny can be the special one,’’ said Blankenmeyer, who is now retired. “I’ve been beating the drum on this kid for years. The way the ball comes off his bat, it’s different. It’s like a golf ball.”
That was on display with Mauricio’s first hit in the majors, a 117.3-mph rocket against Seattle that went for a double. It was easily the hardest-hit ball by a Met this season.
He also has looked fine defensively at second base, a position he began playing in the minors this season.
“There’s concern about his size and playing in the middle of the infield,’’ Blankmeyer said of the 6-foot-3 Mauricio. “I think he can play middle infield in the big leagues. Let him prove that he can’t if he isn’t able to.”
Blankmeyer also saw first-hand the work Alvarez put in behind the plate, and has been impressed by his improvement defensively.
“He’s so physically strong,’’ Blankmeyer said. “When he grabs your hand, he can drive you to the ground. You see his power. And I’m glad he’s progressing as a catcher, because I have no doubt he can hit 25-30 home runs a year.”
As for Baty, Blankmeyer says the skills are there. He sees a player that’s pressing, though, which is something Baty has admitted as he’s battled inconsistency on both sides of the ball.
“I still text him,’’ Blankmeyer said of the third baseman. “I just try to pump him up and tell him to relax. It’s got nothing to do with mechanics.”
Blankmeyer added he’s seen plenty of Vientos, and said, “He can hit. It’s just a matter of where he plays.”
That’s one of many things the Mets have to figure out before they head into the offseason, presumably with a new president and other fresh faces in the front office in addition to general manager Billy Eppler.
For now, the rookies have brought some life to a moribund season, and for one, Francisco Lindor isn’t surprised they’ve had some success now that they are on the same roster.
“It’s a spark, to be here with the guys you came up with and that you’re friends with,’’ Lindor said. “I had the same thing in Cleveland. Me and [Gio] Urshela were best friends. He went to the big leagues [in 2015] and I followed a little later and played well because he was there.”
Lindor, along with Jose Ramirez, then helped Cleveland to three straight AL Central titles.
The Mets are hoping some of these rookies have a similar impact.
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Deion Sanders, the early baseball years
Deion Sanders’ rise as a football coach at Colorado is just the latest iteration of the pro and college football Hall of Famer’s career.
In addition to starring at a defensive back at Florida State and in the NFL, Sanders made a name for himself as a baseball player over parts of nine different seasons in the majors.
Few people had a closer look at his baseball career than Buck Showalter, who managed Sanders both at Single-A Fort Lauderdale in 1988 and Double-A Albany/Colonie in 1989 before serving as the Yankees’ third base coach in 1990, when Sanders spent part of the season in The Bronx.
He was there when Sanders played his first competitive minor league game with Ft. Lauderdale. Sanders doubled twice and reached on a throwing error.
“He had a pretty good night for himself,” Showalter said at the time. “Since he’s played in front of crowds of 70-80,000, I doubt seriously if he was nervous. He showed some things, but he still has a lot to prove.”
Showalter, who said he keeps in touch with Sanders and hopes to make it out to Boulder for a game at some point, added he’s not surprised by his former outfielder’s success in his latest role.
“He was smart and his teammates loved him,’’ Showalter said. “He would have been named captain of the team by his teammates at Double-A if they had been able to vote on it. That’s what kind of leader he was and that’s why I thought he’d do well.”
Showalter recalled a game in London, Ontario, where the ground was frozen and freezing rain was falling. Sanders showed up with a box of plastic sandwich bags for his teammates and him to wear on their feet.
“He said they did it at Florida State when they had a game somewhere it was cold,’’ Showalter said. “Then Deion went out and had one of the greatest games I’ve ever seen. He could do it all.”
So much so that not only does Showalter compare Sanders to his two-sport contemporary, Bo Jackson, but he also likened him to a more modern-day player.
“He was kind of like Shohei Ohtani before Shohei Ohtani,’’ Showalter said. “He could have been as good a baseball player as he wanted to be, but why should he give up football?”
Ultimately, Sanders played for four different clubs in the majors, highlighted by three straight solid years in Atlanta from 1992-94, when he was also playing for the Falcons.
“He taught himself how to bunt, and he was as tough a player as I’ve ever coached,’’ Showalter said. “He could do it all.”
Spoiling for a fight
The Mets won’t be playing in the postseason, but they will have a say in what teams will.
Beginning Friday, their final seven series of the regular season come against teams very much in the playoff hunt.
They’ll start with the AL Central-leading Twins, followed by the Diamondbacks and Reds, two teams vying for the final NL wild-card spot.
They end with two series apiece with the wild-card-leading Phillies and the Marlins, another wild-card hopeful.
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