The last time Michael Conforto was at Citi Field before Friday, he fought back tears.
He had made a shoestring catch in the ninth inning of the Mets’ win over the Marlins on Sept. 30, 2021.
The crowd rose and saluted Conforto, who had been in the Mets’ organization since he was a first-round draft pick in 2014 and was about to hit free agency.
Nearly two years later, Conforto returned as a member of the Giants and again tried to keep his emotions in check.
Conforto was honored with a video tribute at Citi Field on Friday night, when the former fan favorite made his return to a place that had become home.
Minutes before the Mets’ game against the Giants started, a highlight reel of Conforto’s moments in orange and blue was played. Conforto went to the dugout railing, waved to the fans, tipped his cap and mouthed, “Thanks.”
Conforto said in the visiting dugout before the game, “Definitely some emotion. It’s the beginning of my professional career. It’s where I grew up as a ballplayer and as a young man. I started dating my wife out here.
“New York will always be a massive part of who I am.”
A lot has changed since Conforto made that tumbling catch and subsequently said goodbye to the only organization he had played for. He then suffered a right shoulder injury, had surgery and missed the entirety of the 2022 season after he went unsigned.
This January, he signed a two-year, $36 million deal with the Giants, and he had begun to hit after a slow start.
When he stepped back into the Queens ballpark Friday, he marveled at the massive video screen in center field.
The club he left has become a financial behemoth under Steve Cohen, who had owned the team for less than a year when Conforto left and has since locked up franchise cornerstones such as Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo while importing many pricey free agents. Conforto said he was happy for his longtime teammates.
“When I was here, I thought I would always be here,” said Conforto, whose old and new teammate, Giants third baseman J.D. Davis, also tipped his cap to the crowd (Wilmer Flores is another ex-Met with San Francisco). “Things start to change as your career goes on.
“I don’t look back with any regret.”
Plenty has not changed.
Conforto’s route to the park took him through his old Manhattan neighborhood because Conforto is dealing with a fascia strain in his left hamstring, which prompted a visit to the Hospital for Special Surgery on the Upper East Side.
“A lot of people at HSS know me,” Conforto said. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.”
Conforto sustained the injury Wednesday and called the timing “kind of heartbreaking.”
He may not be able to step to the plate in the series, which would have allowed him to say hello to Mets fans and put the team behind him.
When the Giants arrived in New York following a series in Toronto, the customs agents recognized Conforto.
He then made his way to Citi Field, where he said hello to Big Dom, the concourse security guard he saw every day when he was with the Mets.
“Definitely good to be back,” Conforto said. “Looking forward to seeing the people that kind of became my family.”
For years, it felt as if Conforto would become a rare career-long Met.
The top prospect skipped Triple-A and was called up in July 2015, becoming an immediate contributor as the Mets won the NL pennant.
Conforto was an All-Star in 2017 and was solid, if not spectacular, in eight years as a Met, in which he posted an .819 OPS.
He had a down season in 2021, which he ended while trying to control his emotions in the outfield.
That departure eventually brought him to San Francisco.
“My journey was a little different than some of the guys that ended up sticking around here,” Conforto said.
“And I’m OK with that. I look forward. Look ahead to what’s next.”
