Michael Conforto’s wife, Cabernet, sent the video to his phone Monday night while he was still at the ballpark: their 2½-year-old son, Camden, jumping up and down in celebration in front of the television while 5-month-old Colter looked on.
“He kind of understands what happened,’’ Michael Conforto said of Camden. “But not really.”
Conforto’s father, Mike, understood. He was the one who had pitched all those Whiffle balls in the backyard, where the script was always the same: Bottom of the ninth, little Michael connecting for the walk-off home run.
Eleven years and four teams into Conforto’s big-league career, that make-believe moment finally arrived Monday. It landed 405 feet from home plate in the left-center field bleachers, accompanied by the unmistakable roar of 32,997 at Wrigley Field. In his 3,845th major-league at-bat, Conforto, 33, pinch-hitting with two outs in the ninth and down to his last strike, hit his first walk-off home run. Cubs 5, Reds 4.
Dad texted.
“He was pumped,” Conforto said Tuesday afternoon. “I haven’t been out there [hitting] a ton, and this is a new role for me. But he was just sending the message, like, ‘Proud of how you’re always ready, gracious and thankful for the opportunities that come, and just the best thing you can do is just be ready.’ ”
No, Conforto said, he doesn’t recall giving much thought to whether this moment would ever come for him. But when it did, he viewed it through a different lens than he might have if it had arrived earlier.
“I do find myself thinking more about, like, what’s important to me in my playing career,” he said. “Now that I’m closer to the end of my career than I am the beginning, it’s like, more and more, it feels like I just to want to win games and be a part of something special.
“Whatever capacity that is, what means the most to me is being part of a group of guys that are committed to something, pulling in the same direction.”
Conforto was on
