The 2015 MLB season has been one to remember. We have witnessed some teams reach their goals while others have fallen short of the expectations we had placed upon them. And in the middle of it all, there is a Pacific Northwesterner named Michael Conforto, an OSU alumni. Yes, you heard me right! Michael Conforto, an MLB player, is a local who is currently in the playoffs for the NY Mets.
His success is undeniable and everything but average. During his freshman year in 2012, Conforto hit .349/.437/.601 with 13 home runs and 76 RBIs; It’s important to note that the latter was an OSU record that he set. As if setting a new record was not enough, this very same year, Michael was named “Freshman Hitter of the Year” by the NCBWA and the Pac-12!
And while it seemed like a lot for a rookie, it wasn’t so as Michael Conforto did not stop there. In 2013, Conforto hit 11 home runs and 47 RBIs in 65 games. His game was instrumental as the team made it to the 2013 College World Series. To top it off, for a second year on a row, Conforto received the Pac-12 Player of the year along with a first-team-All American by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Needless to say, Conforto was showing he wasn’t just another player, but more like playing to make it big every chance that he got. His game did not go unnoticed by the national forum as in 2014, Sporting News named him the College Baseball Player of the year. Yes, you guessed right, he was once more named the Pac-12 Player of the Year for 2014! That would be three years in a row! Another year with impressive numbers as well with .345/.504/.547, seven home runs and 56 RBI in 59 games he was for sure on the road to becoming a star.
Michael Conforto’s success at OSU was the perfect foundation to continue to grow. In 2014, he was drafted during the 2014 MLB Draft and was signed up by the Mets on July 11. Under their auspices, Michael played for the Brooklyn Cyclones of the NY-Penn League. He moved to the Binghamton Mets, a Double-A affiliate, and later received an invite to the All-Star Futures Game, where he gained two hits and one assist!
Michael Conforto’s performance at the minor league landed him a spot to the major leagues on July of 2015. The very same day, he was moved up he made his debut at Citi Field against the Los Angeles Dodgers landing his first RBI and even though the Mets did not win, Michael Conforto shared his thoughts on the experience: “The whole day was like a dream for me.”
And in good terms the dream continues to grow. Michael hit his first major-league home run against the Miami Marlins on August 3, 2015 at Marlins Park and continued with a second-inning home run off of Dodgers starter Zack Greinke in the playoffs.
His home run off against the Dodgers has given Conforto a place in NY Mets’ history, as he entered a very talented group being the second one to homer in the first postseason at-bat and the fourth one in his first postseason game.
For this and many other reasons impossible to list here, Michael Conforto is a highlight in the MLB and while we did not see him during Game 1 of the playoffs versus the Chicago Cubs, Michael Conforto was listed for Game 2 at Citi Field.
There is no doubt Michael Conforto is a prime example of the wonders that sports are about. He truly represents what happens when a young athlete who puts his heart in the game and we, the fans, feed our love for the sports as we watch him grow and become the professional athlete he is striving to be one game at a time.
Then again, maybe we should not be surprised or shocked of his success as Michael Conforto comes from a family of athletic over-achievers. His mother, Ms. Tracie Conforto, is a three-time Olympic gold medalist in synchronized swimming. His father, Mike, played inside linebacker at Penn State and his sister, Jacqueline, has played soccer at Azusa Pacific University.
Either way, Michael Conforto is playing for the Mets in NY and for those that have followed his career from his days with OSU, they’ll be watching the game and rooting for him as they did back then. Conforto’s next game is Tuesday night at 5:07 PST in game three of the MLB playoffs.
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