Mark Vientos continues his “crazy” journey with a game-winning Mets hit

PHILADELPHIA – After eight days with a total of nine games, the Mets rested before the division series.

Manager Carlos Mendoza called it a “reset” day, with some pitchers playing catch, some players getting treatment and almost everyone taking a breath.

Mark Vientos took a moment to look back on a season that hit rock bottom before it began and then soared into the clouds.

“It's crazy because I think (Friday) was the first day that I kind of sat back and thought about what I was doing,” Vientos said before the Mets and Phillies began the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park. “Because when you’re in it, you don’t really look at it. You don't even sit back and say, “Oh, man.” It's like, all right, next, let's keep winning, next hit, next pitch, next play.

“But (Friday) we had an off day and I just sat back and thought, 'Man, this is crazy.' ”

The madness didn't continue until Saturday, when Vientos scored twice – his second was a game-winning single in the eighth inning – to score another stunning comeback win, this time 6-2 over the Phillies to close Game 1 of the NLDS steal.

Vientos seems to be in the middle of every Mets rally, an indispensable player who continues to hit. His journey to this moment certainly makes it all the sweeter.

Back in spring training, the Mets officially signed JD Martinez on March 23, essentially ending Vientos' bid for a major league job.

Vientos lost the DH competition to a free agent and the third base job to Brett Baty.

A player eager to prove himself in the majors after 81 MLB games over the last two seasons in which he didn't score many hits would begin the year with Triple-A Syracuse.

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He crushed minor league pitching for 23 games before getting his first shot in 2024 and being called up in late April because Starling Marte was placed on the bereavement list. In his second game, Vientos beat the Cardinals with a walk-off and a two-run home run.

He received the option two days later.

Marte had returned.

He played eight more games with Syracuse, playing what was likely his final Triple-A game on May 12. Then he finally got the call – finally – and didn’t regret it (until Friday).

Vientos started to get some time as Baty's bat couldn't get around.

The two unproven prospects shared third place through May 30, a stretch in which Vientos posted an OPS of .882.

Baty was optioned the next day and the Mets had discovered a new third baseman.

Since winning a job he lost a few months earlier, Vientos hasn't stopped hitting.

It's not just that he posted an .837 OPS with 27 home runs in 111 games; It's because his OPS never fell below .700 in a month, the most consistent player in the Mets lineup since he was finally called up.

“His work is very consistent,” assistant hitting coach Eric Chavez said of Vientos this summer. “I think the biggest change he’s made is in offspeed. … This isn’t like Triple-A, where you hit 92 (mph) in the middle and the sliders get stuck.”

In his major league opportunities last season, Vientos crushed fastballs but little else.

This year, after increasing the breaking and offspeed pitches he sees during batting practice, he hit .286 with a .531 slugging percentage against offspeed offerings.

A player who wasn't considered good enough to make the Opening Day lineup ended up in second place – the spot reserved for the lineup's best hitter in the modern game – and prevailed again.

“It’s definitely surreal what’s going on,” Vientos said, “and I’m excited to keep doing it.”