Craig Carton still has until March 31 to unveil his baseball allegiance for 2021, but he has already declared Brandon Nimmo to be his favorite Met this season.
Nimmo joined Carton & Roberts on Wednesday to talk ball, and when Carton got to tell Nimmo the story, he asked what it was like to see the fans to actively recruit a different center fielder.
“I tried to not pay too much attention to it. It was an interesting offseason because of all the talk, but to be honest, I tried to take it as motivation to be better, to get better in the outfield,” he said. “One thing we did target in the offseason was playing deeper; at the start of last season, I was playing about 60 feet more shallow than the normal center fielder, and that was a positioning error on our part. But there’s nothing I can do to change peoples’ opinions except work hard and try to keep improving.”
Evan Roberts admitted he has been critical of Nimmo’s defense in center, but Nimmo said that manager Luis Rojas was in constant communication with him, telling him that he was the guy, and so he took everything in stride.
“I had a positive mindset; I know there are things I can get better at, but I also think I bring a lot of positive things to the table,” Nimmo said.
One thing Evan does love? How Nimmo sprints to first base, even on a walk or a hit by pitch.
“I’ve done it since I can remember. I always tried to play the game hard – my dad told me to play like my hair was on fire – so I’m super excited every time I get on base,” Nimmo said. “Whenever I do, I’m just excited to get down to first base, and I’m trying to get there as quick as possible to pass the baton. I want to try to play the game hard and with respect.”
Of course, that led Craig to ask about the celebration of the last out in practice today that looked like a World Series-winning celebration, to which Nimmo had a fun response.
“So, yeah, we were playing the 27-out game, but the other part is that a lot of our coaches say that the more you visualize something and put it into action, the more you’ll realize it – speak it into fruition,” Nimmo said. “Every out is situational, and if you mess up, you go back to the first out. You have to do 27 in a row right…believe it or not, we got it on the first try! We got 27 outs, and Tony (Tarasco) said we want one more – he did a shadow ball, and said Conforto was going to rob a home run to win in Game 7 of the World Series, and wanted everyone to visualize it and feel it in your heart.”
Regardless of all of that, Nimmo is ready to focus on winning the World Series “however we can,” and he’s loving the fact that fans are starting to be back in the stands to see it.
“Most definitely. I think the biggest thing we saw is that right away, Jeff McNeil hit a home run, and it was nice to get that live action cheer back,” Nimmo said. “You feel a little more normal in the stadium, so I definitely like the fans being there. I’d love more back, and we want to be as safe as possible in doing that, but there’s an energy there that can’t be replaced. Last year was a special circumstance, but the fans definitely help in the marathon of the season.”
Listen to Nimmo's entire segment with Carton & Roberts below!
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