| Mark Vientos | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Vientos with the Mets in 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| New York Mets – No. 27 | |||||||||||||||
| Third baseman | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1999-12-11)December 11, 1999 (age 25) Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| September 11, 2022, for the New York Mets | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .243 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 37 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 96 | ||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Mark Anthony Vientos (born December 11, 1999), nicknamed "Swaggy V",[1] is an American professionalbaseballthird baseman for theNew York Mets ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He was selected by the Mets in the second round of the2017 MLB draft, and made his MLB debut in 2022.
Vientos was born inNorwalk, Connecticut.[2] His mother Katy Wilmor was born in Nicaragua, while his father Carlos Manuel "Charles" Vientos was born in the Dominican Republic but was raised in New York. Mark's father became a fan of theNew York Mets, whose rooting interest and being taught how to play the game, had passed onto him as well.[3][4]
Vientos grew up a fan ofAlex Rodríguez andManny Machado having liked their "swag" and because they both grew up inMiami as he did and who both also switched from shortstops in their respective careers to third basemen. Vientos because of his dad, also grew up a fan of former Mets captain David Wright, another third basemen. Vientos had worn Wright's number 5 in his youth admiring how he had played the game.[1]
Vientos spent his first three years of high school atCharles W. Flanagan High School inPembroke Pines, Florida.[5] In 2016, as a junior, he hit .321.[6] That summer, he played in the Perfect Game All-American Classic atPetco Park.[7] He transferred toAmerican Heritage School inPlantation, Florida for his senior year in 2017.[8] As a senior, he hit .417 over 26 games.[9] After the season, he was selected by theNew York Mets in the second round (59th overall) of the2017 Major League Baseball draft.[10][11] Vientos signed with the Mets for $1.5 million, forgoing his commitment to playcollege baseball at theUniversity of Miami.[12]
After signing with the Mets, Vientos made his professional debut with theRookie-levelGulf Coast League Mets before being promoted to theKingsport Mets of the Rookie-levelAppalachian League. Over 51 games between the two clubs, he batted .262 with four home runs and 26 RBIs.[13] He returned to Kingsport in 2018, slashing .287/.389/.489 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI in sixty games.[14] In 2019, he played with theColumbia Fireflies of theSingle–ASouth Atlantic League, hitting .255/.300/.411 with 12 home runs, 62 RBI, and 27 doubles over 111 games.[15][16] After the season, he was named the Mets Minor League Hitter of the Year.[17]
Vientos did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic.[18] To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to theBinghamton Rumble Ponies of theDouble-A Northeast.[19] After slashing .281/.346/.580 with 22 home runs and 59 RBIs over 72 games, he was promoted to theSyracuse Mets of theTriple-A East in early September.[20] Over 11 games with Syracuse, Vientos batted .278 with three home runs.[21]
On November 19, 2021, the Mets selected Vientos' contract and added him to the 40-man roster.[22] He returned to Syracuse to begin the 2022 season.[23] In early June, he was placed on the injured list with knee discomfort, but returned just a little over a week later.[24][25] He was selected to represent the Mets at the 2022All-Star Futures Game alongsideFrancisco Álvarez.[26] Over 101 games with Syracuse, he slashed .280/.358/.519 with 24 home runs and 72 RBI.[27]
On September 10, 2022, the Mets promoted Vientos to the major leagues.[28] He made his MLB debut the next night atMarlins Park versus theMiami Marlins as the team'sdesignated hitter, going hitless over fiveat-bats with two strikeouts as the Mets won 9–3.[29] On September 15, Vientos recorded his first major-league hit, a single offEric Stout of thePittsburgh Pirates.[30] On September 24, Vientos hit his first major league home run, offOakland Athletics starterKen Waldichuk.[31]
Vientos was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to begin the 2023 season.[32] Through May 16, 2023, Vientos had 13 home runs and anon-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 1.104. On May 17, the Mets promoted Vientos to the major leagues in an effort to spark their struggling offense. He started at third base that night against theTampa Bay Rays and hit a game-tying home run in the seventh inning.[33] On September 20, Vientos hit two home runs in an 8–3 victory against theMiami Marlins, making it the first multi-homer game of his career.[34] Across 65 games for New York in 2023, Vientos batted .211/.253/.367 with 9 home runs and 22 RBI.
Vientos was again optioned to Triple–A Syracuse to begin the 2024 season,[35] but was later called up for the remainder of a series against theSt. Louis Cardinals afterStarling Marte was transferred to thebereavement list.[36] In that series, he would go 3-for-4 with 3 hits, two RBIs, one run, and awalk-off home run in the 11th inning to avoid a sweep.[37]
On April 30, after Marte was activated from the bereavement list, Vientos was demoted back to Triple–A Syracuse.[38] However, on May 15, he was promoted back to the major leagues afterJoey Wendle wasdesignated for assignment.[39]
On September 6 in a game against theCincinnati Reds, Vientos hit a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving the Mets a 6–4 victory and their 8th straight win, keeping their playoff hopes alive.[40]
In 2024, Vientos played in 111 games for the Mets, batting .266/.322/.516 with a career-high 27 home runs and 71 RBI.[41]
In his postseason debut, Vientos hit a go-ahead 2-RBI single in Game 1 of the2024 National League Wild Card Series.[42] In Game 2 of the2024 NL Division Series against thePhiladelphia Phillies, he hit a go-ahead two-run home run to put the Mets in the lead at 2–0, and later hit another two-run home run to tie the game 6–6, which marked his first two career postseason home runs.[43] In Game 2 of the2024 NL Championship Series against theLos Angeles Dodgers, Vientos hit his first career grand slam in the 2nd inning to give the Mets a 6–0 lead, and eventually giving the Mets a 7–3 win. It was also the third postseason grand slam in Mets history.[44][45] During the postseason, Vientos slashed .327/.362/.636 with five home runs and 14 RBIs[46] with the 14 RBIs setting a Mets franchise record for postseason RBIs in a single season.[47]
Vientos has appeared at the youth level for theUnited States and captured a silver medal at the2014 15U Baseball World Cup. Vientos would also be eligible to represent either theDominican Republic orNicaragua in theWorld Baseball Classic, due to the places of birth of his parents but he would also be able to instead representPuerto Rico and even as a native in theLiga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente. While Vientos' paternal grandmother was born in the Dominican Republic, his paternal grandfather (her spouse) was born inMayagüez, Puerto Rico in 1945, which would effectively give himfour eligible countries to choose from and represent in the Classic.[4]
Prior to the2023 World Baseball Classic, it was initially reported that Vientos would play for Nicaragua but he ultimately did not appear on the team's roster opting to instead participate in practices with his Mets teammates throughout the spring.[48]
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