PORT ST. LUCIE — Mike Piazza spent the last five days at Mets camp mentoring a young catcher who grew up idolizing him, and left impressed.
“He’s a nice kid and he’s got the right head,” Piazza told The Post on Friday, referring to Travis d’Arnaud. “I think he’s got the right disposition.”
In camp for the week as a guest instructor — his tenure ended Friday — Piazza devoted much of his attention to d’Arnaud, the 25-year-old catcher whom the Mets are counting on to blossom this season.
According to Piazza, most of his time with d’Arnaud was spent discussing the mental aspect of the position, but there also was talk about hitting. Last year, d’Arnaud hit .202 with a homer and five RBIs in 99 at-bats with the Mets.
Piazza, the all-time leader in home runs by a catcher, told d’Arnaud early in the week he should hit more to the opposite field. On Tuesday, d’Arnaud delivered two singles to right in an exhibition game against the Astros.
“Just taking your hits, not trying to pull off and hit a home run every time,” d’Arnaud said. “When things go bad, just go back to the basics, wait for your pitch and just make good contact.”
D’Arnaud, a Long Beach, Calif., native, had received such advice before, but hearing it from Piazza made the message resonate. It was Piazza, playing for the Dodgers in the 1990s, who was among a young d’Arnaud’s first baseball heroes.
Piazza mostly tried to impress on d’Arnaud the importance of avoiding prolonged slumps.
“If he’s going to be catching the amount of games they project him to catch, he has to, No. 1, take care of himself and understand it’s a marathon — it’s not a sprint,” Piazza said. “It’s a long season and try to keep himself healthy, but more importantly, when he goes through those little lulls, get back on track, take your walks and take your base hits to right.”
In order to stay rested, Piazza told d’Arnaud to maintain a dialogue with manager Terry Collins and catching instructor Bob Geren, especially in the summer months. Piazza would like to see d’Arnaud get rested before a scheduled off day, essentially giving the catcher an occasional two-day break.
Piazza also reaffirmed to d’Arnaud the importance of having constant communication with his pitchers and understanding individual mindsets.
“Mechanically I think [d’Arnaud] has got all the tools, but I try to tell him what’s helped me advance and mature,” Piazza said. “Because when you’re at this level and have the good pitching [the Mets] have, his most important job is to get the complete confidence of the staff and play his game.”
Piazza, who resides in South Florida, said he will probably check in on d’Arnaud when the Mets play at Miami this season. He planned to give d’Arnaud his phone number, with instructions to call whenever he wants to chat.
“I plan to follow through with him, but if he’s doing well, I’m just going to leave him alone,” Piazza said.
D’Arnaud indicated he appreciated getting a chance to spend five days with a boyhood idol.
“He’s a great person, he knows so much about the game and most importantly, like I said first, he’s a great person,” d’Arnaud said. “He helped all the catchers, including myself, tremendously, more mentally than anything. That’s what I feel is the most important thing that you need over 162 games.”
Overall, Piazza said his stay at Mets camp was enjoyable. In addition to mentoring d’Arnaud, he talked hitting with David Wright and Daniel Murphy, in particular.
“I’m excited for the team,” Piazza said. “I think the team has got good energy this year, and you have to be realistic in a way, knowing there are a lot of variables that have to happen for a team to be successful, but if you can pitch and catch the ball, you’re going to be in the game.”