CINCINNATI — The Futures Game is the last of the showcase events for players on the rise. Most of them are used to the attention, being veterans of the prospect scene, and the setting — a major league park — is nothing new to many elite young players, who often play only baseball as amateurs.
Michael Conforto, the Mets’ great offensive hope, does not believe in that kind of specialization. His father, Mike, was a linebacker for Penn State in the 1970s. His mother, Tracie Ruiz-Conforto, won two gold medals in synchronized swimming at the 1984 Olympics.