Rick Porcello, a New Jersey native, is ecstatic to be joining the New York Mets after the team’s heavy pursuit of the former Cy Young winner.
The New York Mets officially announced the signing of starting pitcher Rick Porcello on Wednesday. A conference call followed soon after where Porcello discussed his happiness to sign with the team he grew up rooting for as a kid in New Jersey.
“The Mets were the first one that called, even (as) kind of a small gesture because you get so many phone calls that day from different teams checking in,” Porcello said via Danny Abriano of SNY. “It was something that kind of put me on alert. I had my eyes set on the Mets entering free agency.”
It’s always nice when a player ends up with a team that he has a connection with. That seems to be the case with Porcello who is genuinely happy to play for the Mets.
Being the first in on the action, and pursuing players heavily pays off. The Mets and Porcello clearly had eyes for one another from the beginning of the offseason.
In a surprising turn, Porcello also credits Al Leiter for making this deal happen. Leiter is a special advisor in New York’s front office, but his name rarely comes up in the news.
It makes sense though. Leiter was the ace on the 2000 Mets’ team that Porcello idolized growing up. Having Leiter play a large role in recruiting Porcello makes sense when everything is put into perspective.
Hopefully, Porcello’s love for the team will translate into a bounce-back year for the former Cy Young winner.
