When No. 1 draft pick Michael Conforto was making the rounds at Citi Field on Friday afternoon, he had a brief chat with David Wright. The current Mets star told the future Mets star to reach out and give him a call if the youngster ever needed anything.
Perhaps a better piece of advice would have been, “Watch me kid, and do what I do.”
Hopefully, Conforto, a left-handed hitter from Oregon State, was taking notes Friday night when he and a crowd of 25,914 saw once again why Wright is the face of the franchise.
The third baseman put on a hitting clinic, tying a career-high by going 4-for-4, including a two-run home run to lift the Mets to a 7-1 victory in the first of a three-game series with the Marlins.
“This guy is the kind of guy that can carry you if he gets hot,” Mets manager Terry Collins said, “and we need him to get hot.”
Conforto, who signed his first pro contract and posed with a Mets jersey in the afternoon, took batting practice with the team to get the feel of Citi Field and what it’s like to be a big leaguer. He admitted to being in awe.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said. “There’s no feeling like it. I’m going to remember this for a long time.”
Hopefully, he remembers Wright’s performance and uses it as a standard to achieve whenever he reaches the big leagues. It was the kind of night that reassured the Mets their leader has bounced back from a bruised left rotator cuff that caused him to miss eight games.
The Marlins couldn’t get him out. After Wright singled past shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria in the first inning, he hit another single to left off Marlins starter Henderson Alvarez in the third and scored on a home run to right field by Lucas Duda. After Daniel Murphy reached with one out in the fifth, Wright blasted a 0-2 offering from Alvarez into the second deck above the left field wall.
“That’s about all I got,” Wright said of his eighth homer of the season.
It gave the Mets a 6-1 lead that was never threatened, thanks to the solid pitching from starter Zack Wheeler.
As if to prove a point, Wright collected his fourth hit off left-handed reliever Dan Jennings in the seventh, a rope into left field. It was the 19th four-hit game of Wright’s career.
What Conforto can learn from Wright on this night is perseverance. It would have been easy for Wright to moan about injuries and tough luck while enduring a subpar first-half by his standards. He entered Friday’s game batting .277 with just seven home runs and 44 RBIs.
But now he’s getting hot just before the All-Star break, fueling a Mets offense that collected 12 hits off Marlins pitching.
“If we keep swinging the bats the way we are now and keep getting the pitching performances we’re getting, we can do some damage in the second half,” Wright said.
He’ll miss the All-Star Game for just the fourth time in his 11-year career, but Wright will make use of the rest.
“It’ll be nice to try to heal up and catch my breath for the stretch run,” he said. “I think it’s kind of good for everybody.”
Collins said he thought the four days off would benefit Wright.
“Certainly any of those guys who are everyday players, those four days help out a lot [to] recharge the batteries,” the manager said. “But David’s swinging good. I want it to continue. I know his shoulder bothered him enough. A few extra days of rest will help him out.”
Perhaps Conforto, who will start at Class A Brooklyn, will rise through the minor leagues to give Wright some help sooner rather than later. But for now, he’ll have to watch and learn how to become a franchise star.