A Follow Up On Mets #1 Pick, Steven Matz

Last year, 24 Hours...Aug. 19 2009, we did a post on Mets #1 pick in the 2009 draft, and Long Island native, Steven Matz.

This past weekend, David Lennon - Newsday did a nice follow-up on Matz. Lennon chronicled how Matz’ parents loaded up their Ford F-150 and went with young Steven down to Spring Training. Matz, if he went to college, would only be entering his spring semester of his freshman year. Said Matz’ mother Lori:

"It was just like dropping him off at college, and I wasn't going to be the kind of parent that doesn't drop off their kid at college."

Matz is a graduate of Ward Melville High School, and is excited about his first Spring Training. The Mets plan is to move slow with the kid, but like most 18 year olds, he is excited and wants to get started on his Major League career:

"They're telling me they don't want me to go out and try to blow it up. They don't want me to throw out my arm. They want me to take it nice and slow. They know what I can do."

Matz is slowly being indoctrinated into professional life. The Mets monitor his every move: Dinner is a 7:00 PM every night, and curfew is 11:00 PM. He gets up each morning at 8:30 AM and is to the Mets complex by 9:00 AM.

His thought:

"It's pretty cool."

Matz got another taste of pro life when he had to autograph 2,000 copies of his newly minted Topps baseball cards. A Topps representative was there the entire time to attest to the authenticity of the John Hancock.

The young Mr. Matz is far from where he was a year ago, and hopefully in the next three years or so he will be farther away from where he is now…pitching for the Mets in Flushing.