Jose Reyes: “Hopefully they win a lot of games”

In this video by the Sun Sentinal, Jose Reyes talks to reporters about David Wright as well as the contract situation with the Mets. Towards the end of the interview Jose goes on to say, “Hopefully they [the Mets] win a lot of games”.

After reading some of the comments in Joe’s post, I figured I would post this little quote by Jose so I could add in my two cents on the whole situation.

Right now Mets fans sound like a bunch of whiny girls who just got dumped by their boyfriend, for a legitimate reason, but are so upset they decide to just bad mouth him every chance they get. I am not sure how else to phrase it, but it is really irritating to watch.

Put things into perspective a little bit.

Jose Reyes had been with this organization since he was 16-years-old. That means he spent 12 years and nearly half of his life as a member of the Mets. That is no small commitment.

Yes, there are a lot of players who spend close to that amount of time with a team and leave with no problem. But Jose Reyes is a special player in the sense that he pours his heart and soul into every inning and plays with a passion that is rare to see in athletes at any level. Announcers frequently commented, “Boy he loves to play the game of baseball”, but it would be hard to say he also didn’t love the New York Mets. He wasn’t just a member of the team physically, his heart was embedded with the Mets.

For fans to question how real his feelings about how hurt he was regarding the Mets not offering him a contract, I think is pretty ignorant. In the comments people were saying things like, “I think Jose is starring in his own soap opera” and “He’s hurt because he couldn’t use their offer to get more from the Marlins. Lets face it that’s what would have happened”.

It’s bothersome to think that these fans watched the fervor Jose played with every night over the last nine years and still think he is putting on a show because he is afraid to get booed or for whatever other reason.

Look this is not a Johnny Damon situation where he took the most money and ran with it. From the opening moments of free agency the Marlins were hot after Reyes and were proposing a nearly impossible offer to refuse. Despite the Marlins offering all the dollars he was seeking and the Mets not offering anything, Jose waited two months for the Mets to shoot him an offer that never came and didn’t sign until the Marlins upped the offer even more. His hands were tied.

Jose went out and said all the politically correct things after signing that “baseball is a business” and “he understands the Mets didn’t have have the resources for him”, but in your heart of hearts do you really think that didn’t sting a little? Think of all the time he had invested in the organization, all the hard work he put in to help make this a better team, the special connection he had with the fans, and all the sweat he left on the field—and for a pretty good discount in the Mets favor as well. The same organization he was a member of and fan favorite too since he was a teenager didn’t even extend him an offer, even if just for laughs. Nothing.

As Reyes said, it is a business, but that doesn’t mean you can remove the human aspect from things. It sucks not to be wanted. Even if he understood the financial situation not extending him an offer is almost a slap in the face to the player who was the catalyst of your franchise for many years.

Some fans complain why do blogs and media still talk about Jose? Well how about this, why is Jose Reye still talking about the Mets as well? Reporters are asking him questions regarding the Mets, but would it be so hard for Jose to say, “I’m done with the Mets this is a new chapter in the story”? No, but you, or at least I, can’t help but feel that he still wishes he was in New York. If anything as a Marlins fan I would be perturbed that the man who we just invested over $100 million dollars in can’t stop talking about his former team and saying he wishes a division rival is going to win a lot of game.

Jose Reyes was and will remain my favorite player in baseball. It sucks that I can’t cheer for him anymore, but I most certainly won’t be booing him when he comes to the plate at Citi Field and it bothers me that I will probably in the minority of fans not doing so. Jose has mouths to feed and he shouldn’t be resented for taking the best (and only) offer he received. He did not ditch the franchise, the marriage between Jose Reyes and the Mets just couldn’t work. That doesn’t mean that love needs to be lost between the fans and one of the greatest players in franchise history. Just as Reyes sent his best wishes to the Mets in the video, I will be sending my best wishes to Jose. I hope he succeeds and lives up to the contract he got—just not when he is playing the Mets.

Pardon the rant it has been building up for a while now.