Jose Reyes - Shortstop for the New York Mets
 

José Bernabé Reyes (born June 11, 1983) is a Major League Baseball shortstop for the New York Mets. Reyes was born in Villa Gonzalez, Dominican Republic. He was brought up from the minor leagues on June 10, 2003 and played well in his first season with a .307 batting average, including a 17-game hitting streak, longest by a National League rookie. He finished the season with a 35-game errorless streak at shortstop, which was the longest in the majors that season.
Reyes has shown excellent base stealing ability with 92 stolen bases in 283 games played through 2005. Prior to the 2004 season, he was moved to second base upon the signing of Japanese star Kazuo Matsui to a major league contract. By the end of 2004, Reyes was back at shortstop as Matsui struggled defensively and offensively.
The first two years of Reyes' career were hampered by injuries. In 2003, he tore a ligament in his ankle while sliding into second base and missed the last month of the season. In spring training the next year, he suffered a severely strained hamstring, sidelining him until mid-June.[1] Upon his return, he hit over .300 and stole 11 bases, but returned to the DL in mid-August with a stress fracture in his left fibula, an injury originally suffered the first week of July.[2] Despite the injuries, he still managed to register 19 stolen bases for the year. Reyes bounced back with a healthy 2005 season, appearing in 161 games, leading the National League with 60 stolen bases and all of Major League Baseball with 17 triples.
Reyes is sometimes criticized for his career .303 on base percentage through 2005, which is low for a leadoff hitter. He has been chastised by Mets manager Willie Randolph for swinging at bad pitches[3] and for hitting too many fly balls,[4] thereby not utilizing his speed.[5] He started the 2005 season with 118 at-bats before getting his first walk. His fielding has also been the subject of criticism. In 2005, Reyes led all National League shortstops in errors with 18.
For a period of 10 days during spring training of 2006, the Mets brought in former Met Rickey Henderson as a special coach for Reyes. In particular, Henderson worked with him on two skills Henderson excelled at during his career: getting on base and stealing bases.[5]
Reyes has improved his plate discipline dramatically in 2006, surpassing his 2005 walk total (27) in June. After winning Player of the Week honors in the National League for the week of June 19-June 25, Reyes became the first player in Mets franchise history to be named NL player of the week in two consecutive weeks since Jesse Orosco accomplished the feat in 1983.[6]
Reyes became the ninth Met in team history to hit for the cycle on June 21, 2006 in a 6-5 loss against the Cincinnati Reds at Shea Stadium.[7]
Reyes' success both at the plate and on the bases was rewarded by the fans who voted him to start at the 2006 All-Star Game. He joined five other Mets, including fellow infielder David Wright. It was Reyes' first selection to the midsummer classic. But Reyes injured his hand sliding headfirst into first base days prior to the game, and it was decided that he would not play in Pittsburgh. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Edgar Renteria and on the roster by David Eckstein.
Reyes' outgoing personality and constant smile make him a fan favorite in New York. He is well-known for the elaborate handshakes he creates with his teammates to celebrate runs scored.[8]
On August 3, 2006, the Mets gave Reyes a four-year contract extension worth $23.25 million that will keep the shortstop with the Mets through 2010, his first free-agent year, with a club option for 2011.[9]
Between innings at home games at Shea Stadium, the Mets broadcast a segment entitled Professor Reyes in which the young shortstop invites fans to learn a new Spanish word.[10]
On August 15, 2006, Reyes hit three home runs in a 11-4 loss against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. He became the seventh Mets player to accomplish the feat and first since Edgardo Alfonzo did it in 1999. Two days later, he became the second player in Mets history to record at least 50 stolen bases in consecutive seasons. On September 7, 2006, Reyes hit the first inside-the park home run of his career, against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Shea Stadium. The speedy Reyes was timed at 14.81 seconds for his dash around the bases. [11]
As the 2006 season ran down, Reyes was in pursuit of an unusual feat: reaching 20 home runs, 20 triples, 20 doubles, and 20 stolen bases. As of September 10, Reyes had eclipsed the totals for doubles and stolen bases, but was four triples and one home run shy of a 4 x 20 season. Only one player in baseball history, Willie Mays, has ever recorded at least 20 in all four categories in the same season; Mays did so in 1957, recording 26 doubles, 20 triples, 35 home runs and 38 stolen bases.
Nevertheless, research by the Elias Sports Bureau notes that Reyes is the first player in baseball history to have more than 63 steals, 120 runs, 192 hits and 19 homers in a single season. He was the first player since Marquis Grissom in 1991-92 to exceed sixty steals in consecutive seasons. [1]
Reyes finished the 2006 season with an average of .300, 19 Homeruns, 81 RBI's, 122 Runs, and 64 Stolen Bases. Reyes is arguably the most exciting player in baseball, as his speed, and surprising power has greatly awed his fans. Recent polls show that the "fan favorite" on the New York Mets is Reyes, over David Wright, the young, and already very good third basemen for the New York Mets.
The 2006 Mets clinched their spot in the playoffs, and Reyes experienced the postseason for the first time in his career. Reyes made his playoff debut on October 4, 2006 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2006 National League Division Series. Though he hit just .167 for the series, he came up big in key situations, scoring the winning run in Game 1, driving in the go-ahead run in Game 2, and knocking in the game-tying run in the 6th inning of Game 3. In Game 6 of the 2006 National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals and facing elimination, Reyes hit a leadoff home run in the first inning to jump start his team and help force a deciding Game 7, which the Mets lost 3-1.