Mauricio’s double of 117.3mph on his debut had historic overtones

NEW YORK — Ronnie Mauricio’s first hit Friday night, a double to right field in the bottom of the third inning, came off the bat at 117.3 mph. It’s the heaviest hit a Mets player has suffered in over two years.

The Dominican reached second base on his feet, took off his helmet and kissed his family behind first base.

It was the first signing moment of a career the Mets hope will be filled with them.

Mauricio won 2-3 in his MLS debut New York beat the Mariners 2-1 in Citifield. His double represents the rookie’s hardest hit to land his first career hit since Statcast released in 2015. Head coach Buck Showalter highlighted Mauricio’s defense, noting Quisqueyano’s double play in the third period of his game. The position he took, second base.

For months, the Mets resisted calling Mauricio off the junior team despite his stellar season, in part because they wanted him to keep getting better when it came to swing timing and also because they wanted the natural shortstop to hone him. a base.

On Friday, a smiling Mauricio showed his first hit ball. In the presence of his mother, girlfriend, son and about twenty other people, Mauricio paused in the middle afterwards to look at Citi Field and snap the photo in his memory.

The prospect said, “I was like, ‘Wow.’ Is it a dream or is it real life?”