Darryl Beliel said Michael Conforto has a “rainbow that’s around his head.”

Not only because the Redmond native is a member of the New York Mets baseball squad, but because the 22-year-old is playing in the World Series against the Kansas City Royals.

Conforto started in left field and as a designated hitter in the first two games of the fall classic this week and he could get the nod again tonight in game three at Citi Field in Queens, NY. Kansas City won games one and two at home: 5-4 in 14 innings on Tuesday and 7-1 on Wednesday.

Beliel, who coached his sons along with Conforto at Redmond North Little League, noted that the big-leaguer has always been respectful and had drive, passion and athleticism.

“He’s someone you root for,” Beliel said. “I can’t say enough good things about him as a person.”

“I’m so happy for him. I know it’s a dream come true,” said Dan Pudwill, Conforto’s former Redmond High baseball coach.

Conforto is 0-for-5 from the plate with an sacrifice-fly RBI so far in the series. After driving in the run in the sixth inning of game one, Conforto etched his spot in baseball history by becoming the first person to notch an RBI in all three World Series.

He is just the third person in baseball history to make an appearance in the World Series trio. As a youngster, he competed in the Little League World Series with his Redmond North team, and as a college athlete, his Oregon State University squad made the College World Series.

“Surreal is a great way to describe it,” Conforto said in a Newsday article this week. “It’s all happened so fast. It really just feels like yesterday I was called up and was playing my first game in the big leagues (July 24).”

Pudwill remembers Conforto’s infectious energy, hard work and leadership with the Mustangs, who advanced to the state semifinals his senior year and the final eight his junior year.

The Redmond coach said that Conforto always played with a smile and hit the ball farther than anyone on the team. Because of Conforto’s big swing of the bat, Redmond had to alter its batting-practice time so that he wasn’t hitting the ball near the Little Leaguers when they began playing in right field on the adjacent field at Hartman Park.

Come game time, Conforto was ready to make an impact.

“He played his best when the lights were brightest and the stakes were highest,” said Pudwill, who spoke with Conforto and watched him play in August when the Mets visited the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

Conforto — who has one home run in the postseason — played in 56 games in the regular season and hit .270 with nine home runs, 14 doubles and 26 RBIs.

Michael comes from a family of strong athletic genes: his father Mike played inside linebacker at Penn State University and his mother Tracie was a two-time Olympic gold medalist in synchronized swimming.

On Michael’s success from Little League to the big leagues, in an earlier Reporter story Mike said that he spent “a lot of hours in the batting cage and had a lot of great coaches all the way up through college.”

Said Tracie Ruiz of her son in a New York Post story in July: “He’s the type of kid that will study a pitcher, and he will try to outthink and outsmart them while they’re trying to outsmart him.”

Beliel saw Michael do just that by nailing a home run when he was playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets’ minor league squad. After attending a game in New York, Beliel and his family had a nice dinner and conversation with Michael.

Last year, Michael returned to Redmond from New York to speak with Redmond North all-stars and hand out jerseys at Hartman Park. Beliel said that Michael took the time to ask players their names, positions and to get to know them a little bit. It was a special time for all involved.

While looking on that day at Michael, Beliel said he was beaming with pride.