Brandon Nimmo batted leadoff and performed middle box Friday night time, the place he has been all season for the Mets.
Nimmo soaked in the power of the wild-card spherical at Citi Field, the place he has performed since making his main league debut in 2016.
A Mets cap used to be atop his head, the place one has resided since Nimmo used to be made the No. 13 total select in the 2011 draft.
As the playoffs kicked off, so did a countdown for the upcoming unfastened brokers akin to Nimmo. He mentioned he had now not but begun to procedure the truth that once Saturday, he may be dressed in a Mets hat for the overall time.
“I haven’t really thought about the finality of the end yet,” Nimmo mentioned prior to the Mets misplaced to the Padres, 7-1, in Game 1. “I assume that provides much more reason why to check out and now not make those [games] the final ones.
“I’d like to win the last one — that would be good to be the last team standing.”
For the Mets to come back again and sooner or later win the World Series, they most likely would want main contributions from the likes of Nimmo, who has increased his free-agency price via proving himself in more than a few aspects of his recreation.
Entering the season, the most important query in regards to the 29-year-old used to be whether or not he may keep wholesome, since he had performed 100 or extra video games simply as soon as in his occupation, in 2018. Nimmo performed in 151 video games this season.
A large query about Nimmo used to be whether or not he may be extra than simply a median middle fielder. The handiest National League middle fielders who graded higher this season, via Outs Above Average, had been San Diego’s Trent Grisham, Arizona’s Daulton Varsho and Atlanta’s Michael Harris II.
Nimmo already had confirmed he may hit lefty pitchers, a previous weak spot in his recreation. Through years of his building as a Met, he has ironed out flaws and can be hitting the open marketplace recent off a season with an .800 OPS.
“I’ve had great memories here this year,” mentioned Nimmo, who tripled as phase of a 1-for-4 playoff debut. “And however it works out, I’ll think fondly of this place.”
Nimmo has informed The Post’s Mike Puma that the Mets reached out all over the All-Star wreck to inform him they’re in a long-term pact, however negotiations received’t get started till the offseason.
Until then, he may carry his price a little extra via proving himself in the postseason.
As a rookie in 2016, Nimmo used to be left off the Mets’ playoff roster. Friday used to be his first style of true October baseball, and he knew right away one thing used to be other: An ordinary 20- or 25-minute experience to Citi Field took an hour and quarter-hour.
It used to be the postseason debuts for longtime teammates Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil as neatly. Nimmo used to be the primary to reach, however the homegrown trio has been in combination in the majors since 2018.
“Pete and Jeff, amazing players, All-Stars, batting champion, Home Run [Derby champion], there’s all these accolades to go along with them,” Nimmo mentioned. “I’ve enjoyed being with them for this process. It’s been a long time coming. We’ve had a lot of hard work to get to the point.”