PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — As another spring training workout day came to a close, a group of Mets pitchers gathered on a remote field for one last round of pitchers’ fielding practice, or P.F.P.s, as they are called. The players knelt in a semicircle on the infield as instructed, and a coach began hitting hard, chopping ground balls toward their chests.
Meanwhile, Guy Conti, the Mets’ 73-year-old spring training czar, paced the field. The purpose of the drill was for the pitchers to snag the ball with their glove with one hand, without leaning or diving, as a way to work on their reaction time.