NEW YORK -- Growing up in Venezuela, Wilmer Flores' parents nicknamed him "Catire," a colloquial moniker meaning "blondie," because there were three other men named Wilmer Flores in the house and since he had yellow wisps of hair. He outgrew that, and he now sports a light brown cut and scraggy goatee.
As a teenager, Flores faced a language barrier after relocating to the United States. He outgrew that, learning English entirely by ear.
And as a 23-year-old in New York, Flores now plays under a microscope. The Mets are betting a lot of their early-season success on him being able to overcome those bumps, too.