The New York Mets had to know they were playing with fire when they allowed Michael Conforto to hustle through his rehabilitation from a torn posterior capsule in his left shoulder suffered toward the end of the 2017 season (September).
In an interview with Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, Conforto touched on his struggles to find a rhythm last season, his preparation for the 2019 season, as well as his mindset heading into a new season with a generous handful of new teammates.
“I was pretty ambitious with the rehab last year and very motivated coming off a good [2017], really not wanting to miss any time,” Conforto told Kernan. “But I think in hindsight it was a little bit aggressive on my part.”
Despite then-GM Sandy Alderson’s rough estimate of Conforto’s impending return in May of last season, the now-26-year-old outfielder was in the Mets’ lineup on April 5 in Washington, clubbing an opposite-field homer to left field, to boot.
Oh, how the fan base beamed. While the rest of Conforto’s April was sub-par (.222/.390/.317), he did kick things into gear in May, slashing .256/.337/.444 with five homers, nine runs batted in, and two doubles in 101 plate appearances.
His June (.198/.327/.374 with 26 strikeouts in 91 at-bats) was dreadful, and while he showed signs of life through July and August (.241/.342/.428, nine homers, 29 RBI, eight doubles over 219 plate appearances), September is when the Michael Conforto Mets fans recall so fondly returned to form.
Over 28 games in September (126 plate appearances), Conforto hit .286/.365/.616 with nine dingers, 29 RBI (yes, the same totals he had over July and August combined), a healthy (no pun intended) .291 batting average on balls in play and just 24 strikeouts. Scooter was back!
In the first half of the season compared to the second, Conforto saw his weighted on-base average jump from .313 to .377 and increased his weighted runs created plus rating from a just-about-average 101 to a sky-scraping 143.
Clearly, Conforto was back to 100 percent by the end of last year, and it seems he’s heading into 2019 with lofty expectations.
“To me, last year, it kind of felt like I was going in blind. Not knowing where my swing was, where my strength was […]. Last year told me that I can still be productive even if I don’t feel right,” Conforto said. “[…] Having this offseason to just take my time with my workouts […], it’s pretty much night and day and I feel more prepared this year.”
With the new additions that Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen has brought into the fold here in Flushing — especially the added protection guys like Conforto and Brandon Nimmo will be receiving in the batting order from proven veterans Robinson Cano, Jed Lowrie, and Wilson Ramos — this team feels a bit more legit and a lot more complete.
“I’m excited for 2019. I think it’s going to be a great year for New York, for us. We’ve improved our lineup. We’ve improved our bullpen,” Conforto said. “I’m excited to be with a guy like [Cano], a guy that I’ve watched since I was 14 years old. I think I can learn a lot from him. Guys like [Lowrie]. He’s a grinder. He’s a guy you want in your clubhouse. I’m excited to meet the new crew of guys.”
As are we, Michael.
