The New York Mets, it seems, have a type.
A team once synonymous with baseball’s drug problems of the 1980s, the Mets have now drafted a University of Michigan star who went viral for a cocaine-inspired celebration on the base paths.
Wolverines second baseman Mitch Voit was the 38th pick of this year’s MLB Draft on Sunday night after hitting .346 during an impressive junior season in Ann Arbor.
But aside from his hitting prowess and his ability to moonlight on the mound, Voit’s final season with Michigan might be best remembered for his decision to snort the third-base line in Ann Arbor after hitting an RBI-triple in a win over USC.
Initially it looked like he may have hurt his face by sliding face-first into the bag, but Voit quickly popped up to his knees and pretended to fix a straw to his nose while moving his head along the third-base line. Upon finishing, Voit rapidly lifted his head and gave a possessed gaze towards the crowd.
The Wisconsin native later admitted his misstep in a statement: ‘I would like to apologize for my actions on third base yesterday. I made an immature decision in the heat of the moment. ‘The gesture I made does not reflect my character, the household I was raised in, or the block M that I represent in any kind of way.
Voit appears to snort the third-base line after hitting an RBI-triple in a win over USC
Michigan infielder Mitch Voit during an NCAA baseball game against Texas Tech on March 4
‘I take full responsibility for what I did, and I am truly sorry to all those who I have negatively impacted by doing this.’
Despite his misguided celebration, Voit was still named Big Ten Player of the Week shortly thereafter.
Mets fans were equally happy to overlook the incident, given the team’s reputation for cocaine use decades earlier.
‘An 86 Mets aficionado I see, the kid has a bright future already,’ one fan wrote on X.
Others were more concerned: ‘Bad choice Mets, this kid has major character issues.’
Voit is not the first to do the ‘snorting cocaine’ celebration. Liverpool soccer player Robbie Fowler got a four-game suspension and a fine in 1999 when he appeared to use that pantomime following a goal.
Voit, 20, described himself as a ‘winner’ in an interview with SNY, and the team appears to view him the same way.
‘We’re thrilled Mitch was still on the board there,’ Mets vice president of amateur scouting Kris Gross said. ‘Explosive. Athletic. We believe he stays on the dirt there and excels at multiple infield positions. But the bat really stood out.
‘He made a lot of strides, this being his first year to focus on hitting,’ Gross continued. ‘The plate discipline improved. The contact and the ability to impact – it’s a short, compact, explosive swing.
‘He can impact the ball. We really think he can affect the game in numerous ways. It’s a plus run tool. So when you’re scouting him, you sit there and you start to check all the boxes. He checked them all.’
Voit’s pantomimed drug use is dwarfed by the team’s infamous indulgences of the 1980s.
After winning the 1986 World Series, Mets ace Doc Gooden would test positive for cocaine the following spring and other Mets teammates such as Darryl Strawberry and Keith Hernandez have also faced their own drug issues.
These days Strawberry and Gooden are both said to be sober, while Hernandez has spoken openly about his past troubles with drugs.
