In 1985, Tracie and gymnast Julianne McNamara (who later married Todd Zeile) appeared together on Good Morning America in commemoration of the first anniversary of the '84 Olympics. The interview was conducted by the late Frank Gifford. Who knew at the time that both gold medalists would eventually become related to Mets players?

He was a Baseball America top-100 prospect going into 2015. He was a first round pick. High hopes were had for him. Yet we never, ever got that breakout campaign where we could say, "Michael Conforto has finally arrived." Every year he was with the Mets, there was a 'but'—he had a great year, but ...

His initial showing in 2015 was decent but abbreviated, then he flopped in his sophomore try—that's okay, a sophomore slump, it happens. The he was an All-Star in 2017—that could've been the year, but he was hurt and played just 109 games. 2018 was solid, but he hit in the .240s and this slugger didn't even slug .450. 2019 was good—he had 33 home runs, 92 RBI and 90 runs scored—but still, it wasn't quite a breakout year. It was a great year, but a .257/.363/.494 slashline and 127 OPS+ are not quite the height of what we were told we might get one day. 2020 was awesome, but the season was shortened to 60 games and 2021 was a total clunker, no 'but' needed, he just stunk. He hit in the .230s, didn't manage even 15 home runs, played just 125 games.

So in his 6 years with the Mets, Conforto averaged 126 games, 22 home runs, 66 RBI, 67 runs scored and 118 strikeouts per season. He hit .255. His OPS+ 123.

That's good. But nothing in those numbers would make me say "Michael, you're a STAR!"

Part of the issue is he missed so much time. He reminds me of Brandon Nimmo in that regard, and to an extent Wilmer Flores. Brandon Nimmo's been with the club for seven years, yet has played 100 games just twice, averaging about 80 games per season. Flores averaged just 97 games per season.

A 1st round letdown like Conforto is among the worst kind, because he constantly bubbles under greatness, but never gets there. They're worse than the total flops like Eddie Kunz and Gavin Cecchini—with those, you know to just cut your losses and move on. But the Confortos (and Nimmos) just lead you on, year after year, teasing you with those hints of greatness.

But the true greatness never comes.