Mark Vientos‘ Mets future is bright. Just ask Carlos Mendoza and Pete Alonso, two MLB veterans in their own rights.
“When I’m talking about some of our younger players and the way that they develop, he’s right there at the top,” Mendoza said of Vientos, whose breakthrough 2024 season concluded with a 1-for-4 effort that included a two-run home run in Sunday’s 10-5 NL Championship Series Game 6 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. “It wasn’t easy for him, had to fight for an opportunity. He finally got it and ran with it.
“When you look at the numbers in the regular season, he’s a big part, big reason why we got to this point. And then the playoff performances that he had — unbelievable.
“Proud of him. It wasn’t easy for him. He kept working. Really good first year for him, but now he set the bar high.”
Alonso and Vientos shared a moment after the game.
“I told him, ‘This is why we do things. This is the epitome of the big leagues,'” Alonso said. “He’s come so far and he’s taken incredible bounds. His year is really, really special. He shouldn’t take it for granted. He’s a bona fide big-leaguer now.
“What he was able to do not just in the regular season but to be able to perform and have his postseason, that’s what big-time players do and he has totally solidified himself as a big-time player.”
Vientos slashed .327/.362/.636 with five home runs and 14 RBI in the Mets’ 13 postseason games.
“It’s a bittersweet (feeling),” said Vientos, whose season started at Triple-A Syracuse before he earned his May 15 recall and never looked back. “I’m happy to have met all these guys, and they push me to be the best I possibly can. We made it to the NLCS. A lot of people didn’t expect us to make it here.
“But it sucks. It’s not a good feeling. We didn’t want to lose. We wanted to keep going. We wanted to win the World Series. That was the plan. And it sucks.”
Vientos, who turns 25 in December, turns the page to his first full season with the Mets after slashing .266/.322/.516 while adding 27 home runs and 71 RBI over 111 regular-season games.
“I’m just happy to get the experience that I got at this age, early in my career,” he said. “I’m just ready for next year. I’m ready to get back to work.”
“I proved myself,” Vientos added. “I feel like I proved myself at the major-league level, which is what I wanted to do, and I’m happy with that.”
