The Reality That Jose Reyes Is Not A Met Anymore Hits Home Tonight
The guys at Amazin Avenue asked on twitter one day last year if someone knew who was the pitcher who gave up the first home run ever hit by Jose Reyes as a Met.
I probably answered within five seconds of the tweet being posted. A grand slam, down the left field line in Anaheim off of Jarrod Washburn. Steve Trachsel pitched for the Mets that day and the Mets won the game.
It happened in June of 2003, five days after the dynamic Shortstop debuted. A shortstop who I consider the best in Mets history, the best player to wear #7 in Mets history and a record holder in such stats as Triples, Steals and Runs scored. He also happened to win the first ever batting title in Mets history as well.
You may not remember this, but he was once almost traded to the Seattle Mariners for Lou Pinella and to the Texas Rangers for Alfonso Soriano.
He also was apart of two grand experiments by the Mets brass, one, moving him to 2nd base in favor of Kaz Matsui and of course, trying to change his running style to help him not get hurt, except of course….he still got hurt.
He swung at curveballs in the dirt like it was his job early in his career and never walked. His on base percentage was more scrutinized in New York than anything I had ever seen at the time.
Eventually, from 2006-2008, he was, for lack of a better term, amazing. I say this with what I remember seeing from him, maybe the stats and SABR doesn’t back that up, but to me, he was something else.
Those three years from April to August was a sight to behold. Of course his play in September left so much to be desired, as the lack of hitting and lack of on the field smarts helped doom the Mets towards the spiral downhill we have seen in the years since.
The injuries in 2009, ’10 and ’11 were frustrating and devastating to the Mets and the fans who wanted to once again see the brilliance that was Jose Reyes. The Mets were 90-116 when he wasn’t in the lineup in his career, but it felt like it was alot worse.
Jose Reyes’ final at-bat as a Met seemed to embody everything his career was to us. The talent, the speed and the ability to lay down a perfect bunt for a single. Then to leave the field, all of us surprised, wanting to see more but once again not being able to.
On Tuesday Night when Alex Anthony calls his name for the first time, it will be a surreal moment for Mets fans and for all New Yorkers really.
Free agents dont usually leave here, they are mostly coming here instead. This might be the first time since Darryl Strawberry came back with the Dodgers in 1991 that a player in his prime comes back to New York after leaving as a free agent.
The debates on twitter now about the Mets career of Jose Reyes seem to circle around to the same point. “He was a good player, never great, too many failures and frustrations.”
It seems hollow to me really, almost like when a relationship ends and all of a sudden, the faults of the Man or Woman coming rushing out, those same faults you never mentioned before while still in the relationship.
Jose Reyes coming back as a Miami Marlins player just doesn’t make sense and I for one have dreaded the day he would come back to New York. The longer it took for him to come back, the longer I could avoid the reality that he is not with the Mets.
Of course, certain debates still rage on. Do you boo or cheer? Do you shed a tear or raise a fist in anger? Do you give the man his due?
All tough questions for the Mets fan who will be in attendance on Tuesday Night, who will watch the video tribute of nine years that Jose Reyes graced the #6 spot on the field, the #1 spot in the lineup and also a spot in our hearts, wondering what to make of it all.
The people on Twitter, Facebook, listening on the Radio and watching on TV will voice an opinion that will touch on all the range of emotions that can come when someone you watched grow up comes back to the place he did, but doesn’t call home anymore.
I for one cant let nine years of baseball excitement and also frustration come back into my life and not give it more than just a glancing pass.
I will clap for Jose as I listen to the radio from my job, and I will remember all the great times he had as a Met.
Then it will be over, a moment in time when the hero returns and is given his due.
Then the baseball game will begin and Jose Reyes will be in the other dugout, playing the field and hitting in the opposite innings at Citi Field. Trying to help the Marlins beat the Mets, while we hope otherwise.
Reality will set in finally on Tuesday Night around 7:10 pm, Howie Rose and Gary Cohen will put on their headsets and will call another game and will say for the most part, “Leading off for the Marlins is Jose Reyes.”
It wont sound right.
It wont look right.
But for the Mets fans out there around the world, it will eventually be right.
Because the reality of it all will finally hit home.
