Monday, July 14, 2008

Jose Reyes is Having an All Star Season

Jose Reyes is not on the All Star team, but he should be.

During last night's game on ESPN they posted a stat that shocked me. Jose Reyes is the first player in major league history to have 10 home runs, 10 triples, 20 doubles, and 30 stolen bases before the All Star break.

The first in MLB history.

I had no idea Reyes had 10 triples already. Some players don't get 10 triples in a lifetime (i.e. Ramon Castro). Reyes has improved his average to be the only plus .300 starter on the team. His OBP and OPS are at career high levels.

But because Reyes started out slow and has had some on the field issues, he's not getting the credit he deserves. For the first time in my entire life, I actually agreed with one of Joe Morgan's comments during last night's game. When talking about some of Reyes on-field antics like the throwing of his glove and having a fit when he didn't want to get taken out of a game Morgan said, "The Mets should just leave Reyes alone."

I agree. Too much is made of Reyes. I love the fact that he was upset with himself after making an error. I love his energy in the dugout. Do I think it was a little babyish of to have a tantrum on the first base line when Manuel pulled him from the game? Absolutely, but he came right back and apologized and was over it minutes later.

I hate the constant Reyes trade talk that we hear when the Mets get in trouble. This guy is the catalyst for this team. The Mets have a .750 win percentage when Reyes scores in the first inning. There's no arguing what this guy means to this team.

I'm anxious to see if Reyes can continue to improve in the second half of the season. This should be the last All Star Game he misses for quite some time.

1 comment:

The Adjunct Professor said...

I heard the comment about Reyes (made by Morgan) but I actually disagreed with it. I think it is precisely because the Mets have not left Reyes alone that he has grown into the player he is. I think, given his slow start, had the Mets just let him be, he might still be there.

Regardless, it is great to see Reyes put up the numbers and if people don't want to give him the credit this year and he just catches everyone off guard, that is actually even better for the MEts.

Still, I agree that those stats for Reyes are amazing!