The crowd tricked Brandon Nimmo.
One of the more unusual plays and official scorer decisions happened when Nimmo relied on the crowd’s reaction at Citi Field. The sound of disappointed groans from the fans led him to make a play that got both the Mets and Juan Soto into trouble.
During the first inning on Tuesday, with one out and Nimmo on first base, Soto hit a line drive towards right-center. The White Sox’s center fielder, Michael A. Taylor, made a diving attempt to catch it.
Taylor trapped the ball, but Nimmo — who had rounded second — reversed course, touched second and sprinted back to first base.
Nimmo had his back turned to the outfield and first base umpire Tom Hanahan, who had the best view and declared that the ball had touched the grass. In these situations, Nimmo says he uses “the whole environment,” particularly listening to the crowd, to decide whether to keep running forward or head back to the base.
Mets fans were fooled by Taylor’s strong effort, and thus, so was Nimmo, who ran past Soto on the way back to first base to rule out Soto.
If there is a lesson to be learned from the play, “I guess not be so aggressive,” Nimmo said after the 6-4 win. “Maybe just watch the play a little bit more. I think that’s probably the fix to it.
“But still, I mean, I went back and looked at it, and he caught it on a short hop. So I can see where everybody was confused and thought that he caught the ball.”
Some might argue that Nimmo should glance to the second base umpire, though that ump did not have the angle on the play.
Plus, Nimmo may be scarred.
“That triple play [against] the Nationals — I’m not really looking [at the umps],” Nimmo said of last month’s incident in Washington, where the umpiring crew ruled a batted ball that clearly bounced was actually caught, which eliminated a potential rally with one play.
Some might argue that Nimmo should glance at third base coach Mike Sarbaugh.
Nimmo said he went over the replay and saw Sarbaugh react — “He was like, ‘Oh crap,’ ” — as soon as Nimmo began retreating.
“I went with my first instinct as soon as I heard the crowd,” Nimmo said of a play that officially was scored a line out to first.
Nearly four hours before first pitch Tuesday, Mark Vientos beat most of his teammates to the field to get some extra ground balls at third base. During early rounds of batting practice a few hours later, Vientos grabbed a glove and returned to third for extra reps.
The additional work underscored that he is struggling and that he is working to fix his defensive issues.
Vientos, who has seen increasing time at designated hitter both because of his misplays and because of the rise of Brett Baty, was back at third on a night Baty played second base and Jeff McNeil moved to center field.
Vientos fielded without incident but was replaced for defense for the final three innings.
“He’s going through it right now,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Mendoza has maintained that fielders slump the same way hitters do in hopes Vientos can snap out of this.
Last season, when Vientos was not strong but also was not unplayable at third, he was charged with five errors in 108 games. This year he has committed seven errors in his first 40 games, during which he has been rated as the worst third baseman in baseball.
Not gifted with much foot speed, Vientos needs to be efficient in recording outs on the balls he can reach. This year, he has faltered repeatedly, most recently on Sunday when he charged a slow chopper from the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and did not get his glove low enough as the ball skipped by him.
The Mets still believe in Vientos’ bat, which has not been loud thus far but exploded last season and in October. Their lineup would be better off if Vientos reasserts himself as a major league third baseman, in part because Baty can play second and bats like Starling Marte and the injured Jesse Winker are relegated to DH.
Mendoza has witnessed Vientos’ pregame workload and believes his fielding will survive this funk.
“He’ll get through it. He’ll be fine,” Mendoza said. “He’s a good third baseman.”
Scott Havens, who had served as president of business operations, will be “stepping down,” the Mets said in a release.
“Scott has played a key role in driving progress across the Mets organization,” owner Steve Cohen said. “I’m grateful for the impact he’s had during his time with us. While we ultimately had differing perspectives on long-term strategy, I wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”
Havens had been hired in November 2023 to run the day-to-day business strategy of the organization.
The Mets said they would announce their new president of business operations shortly.
“It has been an incredible honor to serve this franchise. I am proud of what we have accomplished together,” Havens said. “I remain a passionate, long-term supporter of the Mets and will be cheering on the team’s continued success.”
Lefty Génesis Cabrera, who had been designated for assignment Saturday, cleared waivers and will sign with the Cubs, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported.
