Speaking of hope for a playoff spot, the Mets started the year stinking bad-bad, but since the All-Star break have been playing pretty good baseball. One of the great stories of the season has been Mark Vientos making the most of his opportunity to play full time. He drew the short straw at the beginning of the season when he got sent down to the minors in favor of Brett Baty. Baty couldn’t put it together, so Vientos got a shot and he’s been playing at a very high level all season long.
Last night’s walk off 2-run HR is just the latest example of his patience, where he forces the pitcher into a long at-bat and then punishes a mistake pitch. I was freaking hyped.
Meaningful September baseball is a great deal of fun.