How a curious youngster sparked the Wright-Vientos relationship

JUPITER, Fla. -- Several years ago during Spring Training, Mets leadership asked David Wright to go to Minor League camp and speak to a group of infield prospects. This was around 7 a.m., at a time when Wright figured most young players wouldn’t particularly want to be there. He didn’t even know who many of them were.

Yet as Wright finished addressing the team, one prospect approached in hopes of chatting some more.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to meet David Wright?’ I need to have questions,” Mark Vientos recalled of that meeting. “I have questions I need answers to!”

As a child, Vientos admired the Mets by virtue of his father, Charles, who was a fan of the team. The younger Vientos took a particular liking to Wright, a third baseman and one of the brightest stars in baseball. So when Wright showed up to talk to the prospects that morning, Vientos took advantage.

“That always stuck with me,” Wright said. “I appreciated -- whether it was genuine or just trying to make me feel good -- Mark sticking around afterward to continue the discussion, and talk a little more about that mental side or that approach or that preparation.”

In Vientos, Wright sees a kindred spirit. Much like Wright, Vientos was a high Draft pick who enjoyed a breakout season at a young age. Early in his career, Wright manufactured ways to motivate himself, drawing on slights that were often more perceived than real. After he enjoyed a strong half-season as a rookie, Wright told himself he needed to do it for a full season. When he did it for a full season, Wright said he needed to make an All-Star Game. Then two. Then three. And so on and so forth, until he had established himself as one of his generation’s best players.

That, Wright said Wednesday, is how Vientos looks at things -- finally established as a big leaguer, yes, but with much to prove in the seasons to come.

“It was always this challenge that I put to myself, and I see a lot of that in Mark,” Wright said. “It’s a good start, but he wants more, and he wants to be that impact player that I think everybody knows he can be. Now, it’s just up to him.”

Wednesday in Port St. Lucie, Wright slipped into a uniform for just the second time since his retirement. In years past, Wright has been reluctant to serve as an on-field instructor, as other team legends frequently do. He doesn’t like the idea of getting in the way of coaches, and he acknowledges that modern players operate differently than he did.

But manager Carlos Mendoza loves having Wright around, and Wright does believe he can help younger players navigate the emotional highs and lows of big league success. Only so many people can understand what it’s like to become a young, popular New York celebrity almost overnight. The trappings of such fame have ruined plenty of promising careers in the past.

Those are the types of things Wright asked Cliff Floyd, Joe McEwing and other mentors about early in his career. They’re also the types of things Vientos has long been interested in learning.

“It was a really cool conversation, because I dealt with failure and success differently than some of these guys did,” Wright said of their initial meeting all those years ago. “It was a great back-and-forth.”

“Seeing him and being around him was surreal, especially at that moment,” Vientos said. “A legend.”

Even today, Vientos considers himself a curious type, constantly peppering veterans Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso with questions. So it should come as little surprise that he’s developed a relationship with one of the franchise’s greatest all-time players. With Wright’s guidance, Vientos hopes to continue finding success at the highest level.

“It’s addicting,” Wright said. “I would say that once you taste a little bit of that success, you need it. You want more of it. And I think that that’s the position Mark is in.”