Michael Conforto

Michael Thomas Conforto (born March 1, 1993), nicknamed "Scooter",[1][2][3][4] is an American professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). After he played college baseball for the Oregon State Beavers, the Mets selected him in the first round of the 2014 MLB draft with the 10th overall pick. He made his MLB debut in 2015.

Michael Conforto
Conforto with the New York Mets in 2019
New York Mets – No. 30
Outfielder
Born: (1993-03-01) March 1, 1993
Seattle, Washington
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 24, 2015, for the New York Mets
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Batting average.259
Home runs118
Runs batted in341
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Amateur career

Conforto represented the Northwest Region in the Little League World Series in 2004.[5] He attended Redmond High School in Redmond, Washington where he was an honor roll student.[6] He played shortstop on the baseball team and quarterback and safety on the football team. As a football player, Conforto was recruited by Ivy League schools.[7] Meanwhile, Conforto received offers to play baseball at Oregon, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, Washington State, Stanford and Oregon State.[8]

As a freshman at Oregon State University in 2012, Conforto hit .349/.437/.601 with 13 home runs and 76 runs batted in (RBI) over 58 games. His 76 RBI were an Oregon State single-season record.[9] He was named Freshman Hitter of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.[10][11] During the summer he played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.[12] As a sophomore in 2013, Conforto hit .328/.447/.526 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI in 65 games. He helped lead the team to the College World Series, where he went 7 for 16 and was named to the All-Tournament Team.[13] He was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year and was named a first-team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).[14][15] He again played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team during the summer in 2013.[16] Prior to the 2014 season, he was named the preseason Sporting News College Baseball Player of the Year.[17] He finished the season hitting .345/.504/.547 with seven home runs and 56 RBI in 59 games. He again was named the Pac-12 Baseball Player of the Year.[18] He was also a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy.[19][20]

Professional career

Minor league career

The New York Mets selected Conforto in the first round, with the 10th overall selection, of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.[21] Conforto signed with the Mets on July 11, 2014, receiving a $2,970,800 signing bonus.[22] He played for the Brooklyn Cyclones of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League after he signed.[23]

Conforto with the Binghamton Mets in 2015

Conforto started the 2015 season with the St. Lucie Mets of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League and was promoted to the Binghamton Mets of the Class AA Eastern League on June 26, 2015. On July 12, 2015 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, he started in left field for the United States team at the All-Star Futures Game and collected two hits and one assist.[24]

Major league career

On July 24, 2015, the Mets promoted Conforto to the major leagues.[25] He made his debut later that day, picking up his first major league RBI on a groundout, but going 0-3 while becoming the 1000th player to appear in a game for the Mets.[26] The next day, he collected his first major league hit -an RBI infield hit- as part of a 4 hit game.[27] He hit his first major-league home run on August 3 off Marlins' starter Tom Koehler.[28] He finished the season with 9 home runs in 56 games played.[29] The Mets won the 2015 National League pennant, making Conforto the third player in history to have played in the Little League World Series, College World Series, and Major League World Series, along with pitcher Ed Vosberg and catcher Jason Varitek.[30] Conforto hit two home runs in Game 4 of the 2015 World Series, becoming the first rookie to homer twice in a world series game since Andruw Jones in the 1996 World Series.[31]

Entering 2016, Conforto became the Mets everyday left fielder. After a torrid start in April, Conforto began to slump once May came. From May 1 to June 25, 2016, Conforto's batting average dipped to .130. On June 25, the Mets demoted Conforto to the Las Vegas 51s of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League and called up Brandon Nimmo.[29] He was recalled on July 18 to the Mets.[32] After his return to the Mets, Conforto began playing both corner outfield positions. He made his major league debut in center field on July 23, 2016 as a defensive replacement. For the season, he batted .220/.310/.414 for the Mets.[33]

Conforto started the 2017 season as the Mets fourth outfielder but worked his way to a starting job. He was selected to the 2017 MLB All-Star Game in Miami after hitting .285/.405/.548 through the first half.[34] On August 24, his suffered a season-ending injury during a swing after he dislocated his left shoulder and tore his posterior capsule.[35] He elected to have surgery on September 2.[36] For the 2017 season, Conforto hit 27 home runs with 68 RBIs and a .279 average.

In 2018, Conforto hit .243 and led the Mets with 28 home runs, 82 RBIs, and 78 runs scored.

On May 28, 2019, Conforto hit his first major league grand slam against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.[37] He finished the season with a .257 average, .856 OPS, and career highs in home runs (33) and RBIs (92).[38]

In 2020 for the Mets, Conforto played in 54 games, batting .322/.412/.515 with 9 home runs and 31 RBI.

Personal life

His mother, Tracie Conforto (née Ruiz) is a three-time Olympic medalist in synchronized swimming,[39] and his father, Mike, an Italian American,[40] played inside linebacker at Penn State.[41] His sister, Jacqueline, played soccer at Azusa Pacific University.[8]

References
  1. "MLB Players Weekend: National League nicknames".
  2. "Michael Conforto has no idea why his teammates call him "Scooter"". SNY.
  3. Beaton, Andrew (June 2, 2016). "All the Mets Call Michael Conforto 'Scooter,' but No One Knows Why" – via www.wsj.com.
  4. "Mets' Michael Conforto to wear Scooter jersey". New York Mets.
  5. J.R. Rardon (August 20, 2004). "Kids born to compete: son to play in Little League World Series". Community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  6. "Conforto: Strong roots fuel talented leader | Male Athlete of the Year". Redmond-reporter.com. June 9, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  7. Rubin, Adam (July 12, 2015). "At Futures Game, Mets' Michael Conforto understands future can wait". ESPN. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  8. "Conforto's 'it' factor: Talent, smarts, genes". Portland Tribune. June 6, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  9. "Oregon State 7, Washington State 5: Michael Conforto breaks Beavers' single-season RBI record". Oregonlive.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  10. Ethan Erickson/OSU (June 12, 2012). "Oregon State's Michael Conforto named baseball writers' national freshman hitter of the year". Oregonlive.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  11. AARON YOST, Corvallis Gazette-Times (May 31, 2012). "OSU baseball: Pac-12 hands its top freshman award to Conforto". Gazettetimes.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  12. "Oregon State's Michael Conforto will play for USA collegiate national team". Oregonlive.com. Associated Press. May 15, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  13. "Quick: If Michael Conforto uses World Series loss as motivation, he could lead Oregon State back to Omaha". Oregonlive.com. June 21, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  14. FIle (May 29, 2013). "OSU, UO baseball: Michael Conforto wins player of the year; Andrew Moore, Pat Casey also honored". Oregonlive.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  15. "Moore, Conforto Named ABCA All-Americans". Osubeavers.com. June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  16. Ethan Erickson/Oregon State University (March 28, 2013). "OSU baseball: Michael Conforto joins Team USA again". Oregonlive.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  17. "Michael Conforto is SN's 2014 preseason college baseball Player of the Year". Sportingnews.com. February 11, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  18. "Oregon State Beavers' Michael Conforto, Jace Fry earn top Pac-12 honors". Oregonlive.com. May 28, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  19. "Michael Conforto named Golden Spikes Award finalist; outfielder is first Oregon State Beaver so honored". Oregonlive.com. June 3, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  20. "Oregon State Beavers' Michael Conforto, Ben Wetzler among 5 finalists for Dick Howser Trophy". Oregonlive.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  21. "Mets fill organizational need with outfielder Conforto". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  22. "Former Oregon State Beavers star Michael Conforto in New York to sign with Mets". OregonLive.com. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  23. Puma, Mike (July 12, 2014). "Mets top pick Michael Conforto to start career in Brooklyn". New York Post. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  24. Margolin, Ben (July 13, 2015). "A Mets recap of the 2015 All-Star Futures Game. He has now been brought up to the major lrague squad on july 24, 2015. Happy Conforto Day!!!". Amazin' Avenue. SB Nation. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  25. "Mets summon Michael Conforto to save their lineup". New York Post. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  26. "July 24, 2015: Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  27. "July 25, 2015: Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  28. "Michael Conforto Career Home Runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  29. Rubin, Adam (June 25, 2016). "Mets demote slumping Michael Conforto, promote Brandon Nimmo". ESPN. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  30. "Mets rookie Conforto reaches 3rd World Series and this time Conforto makes history by becoming the second New York Met to have hit 2 home runs in one game. Conforto's pair came in Game 4 of the series on the Mets home playing field Citi Park". Newsday. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  31. "Mets Michael Conforto homers twice in Game 4". Major League Baseball. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  32. Mets.com
  33. "Michael Conforto Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  34. Almodovar, Ryan (July 3, 2017). "Mets outfielder Michael Conforto selected as National League All-Star". Amazin Avenue. SB Nation. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  35. "Surgery an option for Conforto after tear found".
  36. "Mets' Conforto to have surgery, out months". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  37. Kernan, Kevin (May 29, 2019). "Steven Matz is saving Mets rotation without 'one ounce of emotion'". New York Post. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  38. "Michael Conforto Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  39. "Olympic Sports: Tracie Ruiz-Conforto". Sports Reference. sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2017. She won solo and duet gold medals in 1984, and a solo silver in 1988.
  40. "Mets introduce first-round pick Michael Conforto at Citi Field by treating him like a pro". NJ.com. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  41. "Mets rookie Michael Conforto is son of former PSU linebacker". Philly.com. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
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