Bo Bichette on first game action at third for Mets: ‘Just trying to figure out who I am over there’
· Yahoo Sports
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Bo Bichette entered Saturday’s Grapefruit League game eager to see what he was facing at third base. A career shortstop who hasn’t played third base since travel ball, Bichette has to see how deep he wants to play, he has to figure out the angles of the balls hit to the left side, and figure out the timing of his throws.
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But what he really wanted was a hard line drive hit right at him.
“Getting comfortable with like a hot smash is something that I probably have to work on more,” Bichette told the New York Daily News on Saturday at Clover Park. “That’s one play you definitely don’t really get at short that much, and even if you do, you’re so far back, you have a lot of time to react to it. So that’s something I’m looking forward to seeing how I handle it.”
He got one in at the start of the fourth inning, when Miami’s Jacob Marsee smashed a low line drive to left field. It was just out of the reach of a leaping Bichette, landing for a single in left field.
The fourth inning proved to be eventful for the Mets’ new third baseman. With runners on second and third and two outs, Connor Norby hit a chopper past the third base bag. Bichette made a strong backhand catch right at the edge of the grass, and fired the ball across the diamond. It was a strong throw, but it was off target, and hit Norby to score a run.
“He took a very good angle there," manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I think it’s just more — especially here in spring training with some of the hard fields that we’re going to be playing on — like the in-between hops. On that one, he created a long hop, which was the right play.”
Bichette saw four innings of work, with the bulk of it coming on those two plays. Overall, there is still plenty to be done this spring, but no one expected him to be a finished product in February.
“Good positioning, he was engaged, especially with the dugout about having guys who were potential bunters or guys who are going to get the head out swing-wise. Starting up, moving as the pitcher is going through the wind up, moving depth-wise … I thought overall was an average, decent day with not so much action.”
Workouts have provided a chance for Bichette to play while getting instruction, but everyone around the Mets has been eager to see how he handles in-game scenarios. Early on when he started this transition, Bichette noticed that a lot of the plays at third were similar to ones made at shortstop. Once he was in a game, he quickly noted a few new aspects of the position.
“I noticed right away the viewpoint is different. I can’t really look at the hitter, I kind of have to look at the contact point. So, there is definitely a lot of stuff I can learn in the game, which I think will be the most important, but reps are also very important.”
This first game was about seeing how he reacted to what came at him. The reps in these early games will be about seeing his reads and helping him make adjustments.
The short plays are what the Mets are the most interested in seeing at the moment. With little time to react after making a read, slow rollers and bunts can be especially challenging without experience.
Bichette didn’t have to charge in on any balls against the Marlins or turn any double plays. While he has the foundation of the position down, it’s still tough for him to know how much time he has to make a play and how much space he has to make it as well, especially with runners on base.
“I think that chopper where he has to make a decision right after contact, that’s a tricky one for the third baseman,” Mendoza said. “Short stuff. You get time to read the ball off the bat, but there, you don’t have much time. It’s just the reaction, whether you want to go get it or you want to create some space and move back, positioning is important as well. A no-one-on, double-play situation, guys that can bunt, just getting in a habit of looking in the dugout.
“There’s a lot that once we start playing games, as a third baseman, you’ve just got to get used to.”
Bichette typically likes to play as many spring games as possible, and that remains the case this spring. The Mets are monitoring his workload, but he appears to be the kind of player that stays on the field until he can’t anymore.
“I’m just letting my athleticism take over and playing the position how Bo Bichette plays it, and not necessarily how anybody else plays it,” he said. “There are a ton of great third basemen, yet they play it completely different than each other. So just trying to figure out who I am over there.”
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