Inside The Mets

Rising Star Mark Vientos Sets New York Mets Postseason Record

The New York Mets look to have a budding homegrown superstar in Mark Vientos, who set a franchise postseason record this October.

Pat Ragazzo

Oct 20, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos (27) celebrates after hitting a two run home run in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game six of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Oct 20, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos (27) celebrates after hitting a two run home run in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game six of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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One of the most impressive aspects of the New York Mets' special run in 2024 came from the emergence of third baseman Mark Vientos.

Vientos had a breakout campaign in the regular season and it did not stop in October. In his first taste of playoff baseball, the 24-year-old set the Mets postseason record with 14 RBIs.

Vientos slashed an impressive .327/.362/.636 with a .998 OPS, five home runs and 14 RBI in his first 13 postseason games with the Mets.

The surprising part is that Vientos was not even on the Mets' Opening Day roster. Shuffled between Triple-A Syracuse and the majors for the first two months of the regular season, Vientos took over at third base for struggling former top prospect Brett Baty in late-May and never looked back.

The soon-to-be 25-year-old had a .266/.322/.516 slash line, a .838 OPS, 27 home runs and 71 RBI in 111 games this season.

The Mets were expecting Baty and/or catcher Francisco Alvarez to develop quicker than Vientos, but that hasn't been the case. Vientos looks like a future star after the performance he displayed in 2024 between the regular season and postseason.

After the Mets' Game 6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers and elimination from the NLCS on Sunday night, Vientos expressed his disappointment in the finish.

"It's a bittersweet (feeling)," Vientos told reporters. "I'm happy to have met all these guys, and they push me to be the best I possibly can. We made it to the NLCS. A lot of people didn't expect us to make it here.

"But it sucks. It's not a good feeling. We didn't want to lose. We wanted to keep going. We wanted to win the World Series. That was the plan. And it sucks."

On a more positive note, the right-handed slugger is happy with what he was able to accomplish this season.

"I'm just happy to get the experience that I got at this age, early in my career," Vientos said. "I'm just ready for next year. I'm ready to get back to work."

"I proved myself," he added. "I feel like I proved myself at the major-league level, which is what I wanted to do, and I'm happy with that."

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Pat Ragazzo
PAT RAGAZZO

Pat Ragazzo is the reporter, publisher, site manager and executive editor for Sports Illustrated's Mets and Yankees On SI websites. Pat was selected as The Top Reporter & Publisher of the Year 2024 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for outstanding leadership, dedication, and commitment to the industry. He has been seen on several major TV Network stations including: NBC4, CBS2, FOX5, PIX11 and NY1; and is frequently heard on ESPN New York FM 880 AM and WFAN Sports Radio 101.9 FM as a guest. Pat also serves as the Mets insider for the "Allow Me 2 Be Frank" podcast hosted by Frank "The Tank" Fleming of Barstool Sports. You can follow him on Twitter/X: @ragazzoreport.

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