Catalanotto pleased and proud to be coming home
New York Mets' Frank Catalanotto reacts after flying out to left field off a pitch by Boston Red Sox's John Lackey in the second inning. (March 17, 2010) Credit: AP
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Mets were thrilled Saturday to finally be leaving Florida in preparation for tomorrow's season opener against the Marlins at Citi Field.
None more so than Frank Catalanotto. While the team calls New York home, it is more of an actual homecoming for the Smithtown product, who found out Friday that he had earned a spot on the club's 25-man roster. As soon as the Mets cut Chris Carter - the lone remaining threat - Catalanotto's spot was secure.
He spoke to his wife, Barbara, that night from St. Petersburg and he now plans to put in a ticket request for more than a dozen friends and family members for Opening Day. The Mets are the fifth team of Catalanotto's 13-year major-league career but this experience will be a new one.
"It's definitely different for me," he said. "It's always been a dream of mine to be able to play in New York, and to be able to live at home and have my family and friends there, night after night, going out on that field is going to be really special."
For really the first time, Catalanotto came into camp without knowing his spot on a team was fairly secure, and a 1-for-13 start, in limited playing time, made him a little nervous early on. But he rallied late to wind up hitting .257 (9-for-35) with three doubles, a triple, a home run and seven RBIs in 21 games.
"I'm really proud of myself because with the start I got off to, it didn't look good for me," Catalanotto said. "I just said to myself, hey, this is something that you really want, so take it seriously the last two or three weeks of spring. I feel like I won a job and I'm very proud of that."
Catalanotto's chief competition figured to be Mike Jacobs, but the two became pretty good friends and even had neighboring lockers in the clubhouse. While the two were talking a week ago, Jacobs said he had a feeling they both could make it. That prediction came true when Daniel Murphy sprained his knee, forcing him to open the season on the disabled list.
"In this game, you never know - injuries can happen," Catalanotto said. "It wasn't something that was likely, but it ended up happening."
