Michael Conforto

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Michael Conforto
Michael Conforto on July 25, 2015.jpg
Conforto with the New York Mets in 2015
New York Mets – No. 30
Left fielder
Born: (1993-03-01) March 1, 1993 (age 31)
Seattle, Washington
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 24, 2015, for the New York Mets
MLB statistics
(through May 30, 2016)
Batting average .269
Hits 88
Home runs 17
Runs batted in 50
Slugging percentage .511
Teams

Michael Thomas Conforto (born March 1, 1993) is an American professional baseball left fielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). After playing 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.

Amateur career

Conforto represented the Northwest Region in the Little League World Series in 2004.[1] He attended Redmond High School in Redmond, Washington where he was an honor roll student.[2] He played shortstop on the baseball team and quarterback and safety on the football team. As a football player, Conforto was recruited by several Ivy League schools.[3] Meanwhile, Conforto received offers to play baseball at Oregon, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, Washington State, Stanford and Oregon State.[4]

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 was an Oregon State single-season record.[5] 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.[6][7] During the summer he played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.[8] 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.[9] 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).[10][11] He again played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team during the summer in 2013.[12] Prior to the 2014 season, he was named the preseason Sporting News College Baseball Player of the Year.[13] 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.[14] He was also a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy.[15][16]

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.[17] Conforto signed with the Mets on July 11, 2014, receiving a $2,970,800 signing bonus.[18] He played for the Brooklyn Cyclones of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League after he signed.[19]

Conforto during his tenure with the Binghamton Mets, double-A affiliates of the New York 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.[20]

Major league career

On July 24, 2015, the Mets promoted Conforto to the major leagues.[21] He made his debut later that day, picking up his first major league RBI on a groundout, but going 0-3.[22] The next day, he collected his first major league hit -an RBI infield hit- as part of a 4 hit game.[23] He hit his first major-league home run on August 3 off Marlins' starter Tom Koehler.[24] 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.[25] Conforto hit two home runs in Game 4 of the 2015 World Series, becoming the first rookie to do so since Andruw Jones in the 1996 World Series.[26]

Personal life

His mother, Tracie Conforto is a three-time Olympic gold medalist in synchronized swimming, and his father, Mike, an Italian American,[27] played inside linebacker at Penn State. His sister, Jacqueline, played soccer at Azusa Pacific University.[4]

References

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External links