Part of the fun of following the WBC is that it comes with a variety of baseball stories that are unusual going on unique. That’s definitely the case for New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos, who’s basically playing baseball with his childhood buddies for Nicaragua.
But Vientos’ buddies growing weren’t just typical scrawny kids from down the street, however. He counts the likes of professionals like Jeter Downs and Freddy Zamora as his friends, and according to Marc Feinsand of MLB.com they grew up playing travel ball together.
“We've seen each other since we were 10 years old, which is kind of crazy now that we're playing on the Classic team together,” Vientos said. “It’s funny because we were the same [high school] draft class in 2017 and we were all shortstops, so we've known each other for a while.”
Jeter Downs was the lone first-rounder of the group. He was taken in the first round by the Cincinnati Reds, and he echoed his friends thought about how unusual the whole experience is.
“It’s a pretty surreal moment,” Downs said. “Everything is coming back full circle; we get to play at home again in the backyard with all our friends and family that watched us play when we were little. We’re just trying to enjoy it, have as much fun as possible and put our best foot forward.”
Vientos, meanwhile, was selected by the Mets in the second round with the 59th overall pick. Zamor chose to attend the University of Miami initially, and he was drafted in the second round by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020.
“There was a lot of competition,” Zamora said. “We all played shortstop, so growing up, iron sharpens iron. We were just getting the best out of each other. Now it's pretty cool to be playing together with them on the same diamond.”
Downs has been playing in Japan since 2024, but he was part of the landmark trade that brought former Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Zamora has yet to reach the majors after playing five years in the Brewers organization as a shortstop.
Vientos was probably glad to get away given his situation with the Mets right now. He was on the trade block all winter, and Vientos is currently a forgotten man amidst all the moves the Mets made this offseason.
Nicaragua manager Dusty Baker didn’t know initially that the three friends played together, but he welcomes their familiarity given that his team will go into Friday’s opening game against the Dominican Republic as an underdog.
Vientos actually had his choice of countries for the WBC between the US, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Nicaragua, and reuniting with Downs and Zamora simplified his decision.
“There was a lot of competition,” Zamora said. “We all played shortstop, so growing up, iron sharpens iron. We were just getting the best out of each other. Now it's pretty cool to be playing together with them on the same diamond.”