The Mets’ 2024 season was a whirlwind. “From 0-5 to OMG,” as Gary Cohen said when the club clinched a playoff spot in improbable fashion.
There were ups, there were downs, and somewhere along the way the Mets found a way to go on a magical ride to the NLCS.
And while Francisco Lindor may have been the team’s MVP, perhaps no one on the roster best personified that roller coaster of a season better than Mark Vientos, who went from an afterthought at the end of spring training to a budding superstar by the end of the playoff run.
Vientos, writing for The Players’ Tribune, summed up what this past season meant for him: a season that started, disappointingly, in Syracuse.
“I’d worked relentlessly during the offseason. I was raking all spring,” Vientos wrote. “I had big goals for 2024. Crazy goals. It was like: I’m going to be an All-Star third baseman this year!
“So when we signed J.D. [Martinez] at the end of spring, and I was the odd man out, I was like….
“Why is this happening? What did I do to deserve this?”
But with Brett Baty struggling to lock down the starting job at third base, Vientos would get another shot in the majors, and he made the most of it, going on to play 111 games while slashing .266/.322/.516 with 27 homers, 71 RBI, and more than his fair share of electric moments.
Vientos grew up in Florida, but his father had lived in New York and was a Mets fan. They’d watch Mets games together, and Mark idolized Mets greats like David Wright and Jose Reyes.
This October, it was Vientos following in Wright and Reyes’ footsteps, as he blasted five home runs to go along with 14 RBI in 13 postseason games.
“I gotta say … it feels like I was born to be a New York Met,” Vientos wrote.
The end of the road for Vientos and the Mets came in Game 6 of the NLCS, and while the typically stoic Vientos let his emotions flow after the game, it also made him all the more excited to get back on the field and keep building on what the club accomplished.
“Hell yes, I was sitting at my locker crying my eyes out after that game was over and we were eliminated by the Dodgers. Absolutely,” wrote Vientos.
“I keep telling myself that even though it didn’t end the way we all wanted, this has truly been an incredible season.
“It’s something I will never forget. And, more than anything, it has me hungry for more.”
Vientos also took a moment to shout out Mets fans, who packed Citi Field and made it one of the most incredible atmospheres in baseball.
“Which reminds me … let me just say: Our fans, all year long, but especially during the playoffs? You guys were absolutely incredible,” wrote Vientos. “I love New York so much. I love playing in this city more than I could ever explain. Just the energy that our fans bring to the game, the passion. It’s something I can feel, and it honestly makes me a better player. I love everything about it — the pressure, the expectations, the way that baseball is seen as more than just a game, all of it.”
The Mets now head into the offseason looking to build off of their storybook 2024 season, with Vientos saying the team is “building something special,” and that “the best is yet to come.”
There will be plenty of expectations placed on the Mets moving forward, but make no mistake, Vientos and his teammates welcome the added pressure of being World Series contenders.
“We don’t shy away from it. We embrace it,” Vientos wrote. “We’re not afraid to be thinking big, and right now we’re looking to create a legacy of Mets baseball… And it’s not something that’s in the background or just some vibe or something. No! We’ve talked about this. It’s a real thing.”
