Meneses learning how to handle newfound fame

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Joey Meneses walked into the Nationals’ clubhouse at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and couldn’t help but be in awe of his new surroundings.

He may own a .324 career batting average, .563 career slugging percentage and .930 career OPS, but this – believe it or not – is the first time Meneses has ever been invited to big league spring training.

“Kind of weird, because it’s a little different to be treated so well,” the 30-year-old slugger said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I’m not a minor leaguer.”

No, he most definitely is not. And if he has anything to say about it, he never will be one again.

Meneses’ story has become well known to anyone who follows the Nationals, but it bears revisiting because it’s so unconventional and so uplifting.

Originally signed as a 19-year-old prospect out of Mexico by Atlanta, Meneses spent 9 1/2 years in the minors, moving from the Braves organization to the Phillies to the Red Sox and eventually the Nationals, with a side trip to Japan mixed in there for good measure. He hit just about everywhere he played, topped by an .840 OPS in 264 career Triple-A games, but through it all he never got a chance to make his major league debut.

Until the Nats traded a couple of guys named Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres on Aug. 2 and, desperate for a first baseman and right fielder, called up Meneses from Triple-A Rochester and thrust him directly into the lineup that night.

All he did was homer in his debut, homer five times in his first nine games and become only the third player in the last 50 years to total at least 72 hits, 14 doubles and 13 homers in his first 56 big league games.

Before any of that, though, he was just an unknown slugger putting up big numbers in the minors who never got the break he deserved.

“I didn’t really know too much about him,” said Nationals catcher Riley Adams, who opened the season in the majors but was optioned to Triple-A on July 1. “And then when I got sent down to Rochester, Joey was batting third. He came up to bat, and that was the first time I saw his stats on the board. He was hitting .300 with 20 homers in July, and I was like: ‘This guy hasn’t been called up yet?’”

There’s been a healthy combination of awe and skepticism at every turn Meneses has taken. Yeah, he raked in the minors, but could he do it at the highest level? Yeah, he had a great opening week in the bigs, but could he sustain it? Yeah, he was one of the best hitters in the league for two months, but could he do that for six months?

“I don’t think there’s anything he has to prove,” outfielder Lane Thomas said. “He just has to keep doing his thing every day. He came up for two months and hit better than the whole league. Even if he does half of what he did, I feel like that’s a win.”

Meneses became an instant sensation, not only in D.C. but back home in Mexico. He’s now a celebrity there, asked to do interview upon interview with local media, selected to play in next month’s World Baseball Classic, even the subject of a song written by a friend.

“It’s a little weird,” the soft-spoken slugger said. “I’m not used to getting attention, or being the guy that wants the attention. So it’s a little different to try to cope with it.”

Meneses at first questioned whether he should leave camp to play in the WBC, worried it might jeopardize his chances of making the roster. Manager Davey Martinez couldn’t help but chuckle and assure his best hitter his place on the team was secure, even if he misses two weeks of prime spring training prep time in March.

“It means a lot,” the Culiacan native said. “I feel so proud to play in the World Baseball Classic. I saw that before on TV. I always wanted to participate in one, and I got the opportunity this time. I don’t know if the next one I will be a part of it or not, so I definitely want to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Crazy as it would’ve sounded six months ago, Meneses now finds himself the focal point of the Nationals’ projected Opening Day lineup. He may bounce around positions, from first base to left field to designated hitter. But his place in Martinez’s batting order is probably secure: He’s the No. 3 hitter.

And everyone around here is convinced he deserves that designation. They may not have had any idea who he was last year. They know who he is now. And they’re convinced he’s the real deal.

“Just the way he goes about his business, the way he handles his pregame work, how he studies pitchers and how he gets ready for games … that alone, you can tell that Joey knows what he’s doing and has it figured out,” Adams said. “It didn’t take long to figure out he’s a pretty special hitter.”