Mets’ Luisangel Acuña doing everything he can to prove late season success wasn’t fluke
NY Post
PORT ST. LUCIE — Luisangel Acuña had so much fun playing winter ball in his native Venezuela that he texted his Mets manager to ask if it was OK to extend beyond the one-month stint that had been agreed to beforehand.
That request was denied by Carlos Mendoza, but the 22-year-old infielder’s enthusiasm was admirable.
“I wanted to learn as much as possible and I wanted to play in my country,” Acuña said Sunday through an interpreter. “I had fun. It was a very good experience.”
It’s just the latest adventure to fall into that category for Acuña, who last season was promoted to the Mets for the first time, appeared in 14 games in September and was added to the postseason roster.
Acuña’s contributions — he produced a .966 OPS in 40 plate appearances — were helpful in the Mets clinching a wild-card berth as Francisco Lindor rested his ailing back.
But even that jolt he provided after a season in which he largely struggled offensively at Triple-A Syracuse isn’t enough to guarantee a spot on the Mets roster this season. Acuña posted a .654 OPS in 131 games for Syracuse.
The car carrying Tanner Engstrand and Sammy Lawanson into work at 6 a.m. usually was a little lighter on the way home.
BOSTON — The Knicks are at a crossroads in Beantown.
BOSTON — The Knicks are at a crossroads in Beantown.
On the morning of Nov. 2, 2023, the question was whether Adam Fox, coming off the best month of his NHL career, was going to win his second Norris Trophy in four years.
One of the players most dramatically affected by the Yankees’ long-standing policy on beards and long hair believes they should keep the “tradition.”
At the time of the break, Mika Zibanejad had just started to turn around his season.
PORT ST. LUCIE — Jett Williams spent his time away from baseball last season to reflect on life.
CLEVELAND — The Knicks arrived and left Cleveland with the same problem: Their defense is atrocious against the NBA’s best.
The car carrying Tanner Engstrand and Sammy Lawanson into work at 6 a.m. usually was a little lighter on the way home.
Urho Vaakanainen is in his seventh NHL season, and the Rangers are his third team, but the 26-year-old defenseman never has reached the playoffs.
TAMPA — Aaron Judge has played in the Yankees’ first home Grapefruit League game in each of the past four years.
Silent most of the game, Mikal Bridges required just one play to make himself heard.
PORT ST. LUCIE — When the Mets arrived at spring training, their intention was to go with a six-man rotation from the outset of the regular season.