Every year since Michael Conforto has been in the majors we have always seen the potential in him, but at times the outfielder left something to be desired among some people.
In 2019, though, the outfielder has established himself, making it clear that he is truthfully one of the better players in the league and that he has truthfully become a leader for this team.
That was expressed no more perfectly than his performance on Tuesday night, with the Mets’ backs against the wall, knowing that if they lost their hopes of a miraculous run towards the postseason were set to end.
Not only did Conforto perform, but he carried the team on his back, hitting two home runs and driving all four runs in the first nine innings, which set the stage for the eventual Brandon Nimmo walk-off walk.
The second one was in the ninth inning, with the team three outs away from elimination. Shortly before that happened, I saw multiple people on Twitter saying that the left-handed hitter’s first home run was just another meaningless one hit by him.
Well, Conforto managed to shut those people up in the bottom of the ninth when he rocketed a Jose Urena fastball to right-center field to tie the game.
“We’re trying to focus on our game, but they’re up there over the third deck,” Conforto said. “We’re aware, but it’s not like it is going to change the way we play the game. We’re gonna play to win no matter what our playoff chances are.”
“I think that’s the attitude of everybody in here so we’ll go out there with the same attitude tomorrow and the next day to continue and try to win games,” Conforto added.
Conforto, 26, has never been known for the soundbite or the persona like Pete Alonso, Noah Syndergaard, Jeff McNeil, or J.D. Davis, but the outfielder has always said the right things.
While many had always been clamoring for him to be more vocal, the fact that he leads by example maybe is what is best for everyone.
The outfielder goes out there and performs every day, and has been healthy for the large majority of the season, playing in 146 games.
I spoke earlier this year with Mets’ prospect Jake Mangum about leadership as he was known for that during his time at Mississippi State, and he told me that he thought the most important quality in a true leader is consistency.
When I thought it over, I agreed with the concept completely. The fact is, everyone knows who Michael Conforto is and what he’s going to do.
Every game, he’s going to go out there and compete on both sides of the ball, being a strong defender in right field as well as a very nice bat in the middle of the order.
He also became one of only five Mets in team history to record 30 homers, 90 RBI, and 80 walks in a season according to MLB Network. Specifically in his case, Conforto has hit .255/.361/.494 with 33 homers and 91 RBI this season.
So what, if he’s not the most vocal of leaders out there. The fact is, he really doesn’t need to be with the previously mentioned vocal players on this team.
Conforto might not be the best player on this team even, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a very good player. Right now, he actually has a higher OPS+ than Bryce Harper by three points (128 as compared to 125).
The difference between the two of them, though, is that Harper is in the first year of a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Meanwhile, the Mets are paying Conforto $4.03 million this season with the likelihood being that his next salary in arbitration won’t be any higher than $8 million.
Sure, we can sit here and complain about his struggles against left-handers and the fact that he sometimes goes into prolonged slumps.
Or, we can appreciate the fact that Michael Conforto is a very good player and a lead-by-example type of leader that many teams would covet.
The Mets are lucky to have him and the idea of trading him because of this belief that exists among some that he isn’t a part of the long-term core is preposterous.
