Score another one for the new guy.
When Patrick Mazeika was recalled from Triple-A Friday after James McCann went to the injured list, Mets manager Buck Showalter said Mazeika would get plenty of opportunities behind the plate alongside Tomas Nido in McCann’s absence.
Didn’t take Mazeika long to make good on Buck’s promise, as he delivered a home run that was the eventual game winning run Saturday night in his first MLB game of 2021.
“I think we can say that one was over 60 miles an hour over six feet," Mazeika joked after the 5-4 win over Seattle, referencing his two previous career game-winning hits. “I was just looking for something up in the zone out over the plate that I could get in the air.”
The homer actually went 370 feet with an exit velocity of 101.6 MPH, but the joke is that in just 37 MLB games last year, Mazeika had two game-winners – and neither left the infield. In the span of five days last May, he had two walk-off fielder’s choices, a pair of choppers that scored the winning runs when the opposing team couldn’t get the out at the plate.
In fact, Mazeika had three RBI before he even had a major-league hit, thanks in part to those dribblers, so this one was extra satisfying.
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“I think that one’s a little bit better, I finally got it out of the infield,” he joked. “And honestly, (the best part) was just telling Jeff McNeil I have more pop than him, and the balls aren’t soft. Obviously, it felt really good. Big moment, big team win. It was an electric crowd, too.
Overall, a great night."
The “Mazeika magic” is real, and despite being the Mets’ nominal third catcher, he’s never slacked off waiting for his opportunities to contribute.
“I think if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s you gotta be ready for anything,” he said. “Last year, it was up, down, some taxi squad, just embrace it. Always gonna be ready to play whenever, so that mindset’s allowed me to just come in and try and transition a little bit more seamlessly.”
And even though this one wasn’t a walk-off, it came in a huge moment in the seventh, after the Mariners had just come back to tie the game 4-4 in the previous half-inning.
“Regardless of what it meant in the game, that’s why you get up in the morning," said Showalter. "You never know what the game’s got in store for you. That was a great moment for him, let alone the team. He ambushed a guy throwing 100 miles an hour - we needed it.”
With Nido struggling at the plate this season, Mazeika may see more than just the “backup” share of playing time, but whenever he’s called upon, he’ll be ready – thanks in part to some advice from another less-than-full-time Met in Dominic Smith.
“You just gotta do it one pitch at a time, one at-bat at a time,” Mazeika said. “Wherever the spot is, just lock in on what I’m trying to do, and I think that’s allowed me to stay focused on that.”
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