MIAMI — By the time New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza approached third baseman Mark Vientos early Wednesday about failing to hustle on a grounder during Tuesday night’s game, the 25-year-old had already heard from others.
After the game, star shortstop Francisco Lindor and first base coach Antoan Richardson spoke to Vientos. Along with outfielder Brandon Nimmo, Lindor is one of the Mets’ clubhouse leaders. They essentially told him, “Hey, don’t let that happen again.”
Vientos got the message.
“Didn’t hustle it out — it’s unacceptable,” Vientos said before Wednesday’s game. “I won’t let that happen again.”
In the fourth inning of the Mets’ 4-2 loss to the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night, Vientos failed to run out a grounder hit to third baseman Graham Pauley. Instead of running hard, Vientos — in his words — “jogged” out of the box and then “coasted” down the line. Pauley failed to handle the ball cleanly. Still, he had time to make the play and throw out Vientos. By the time Vientos heard the crowd reacting to the ball not being handled routinely, it was too late.
“I should’ve just been sprinting right when I hit it,” Vientos said.
On Wednesday, Mendoza said he spoke to Vientos about that play, plus another one. In the ninth inning, Vientos showed visible frustration, throwing a piece of his helmet in the dugout after flying out and leaving two runners on base.
"Won't let that happen again, for sure."
Mark Vientos says that Francisco Lindor, Carlos Mendoza and Antoan Richardson spoke with him after the game about not running hard to first base on a groundout in the fourth inning of last night's game: pic.twitter.com/VHIw6GTvM7
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 2, 2025
“Probably should’ve never done that, too,” Vientos said. “But that’s just the player I am. I am competing out there. I am super focused, and I want to win. Obviously, I gotta tame it down a little bit, but that’s just how I compete.”
After breaking out with 27 home runs in 2024, Vientos is off to a slow start. He is 2-for-19 (.105 batting average) with two walks and two strikeouts. Both of his hits were doubles. On Wednesday, Mendoza moved him from fifth to sixth in the batting order.
“You kind of give it a day, and then the next day you talk to him,” said Mendoza, a second-year manager. “You’re just making sure that mentally he is in a good place. They are human. You want to see results right away. Just understanding that it’s a long year. Just stick to the basics, your fundamentals, your process, your preparation and things will be all right. That was basically the whole deal with him. He’s in there today, and he’s a big part of this team.”
