I love a good underdog story and on Wednesday afternoon, utility infielder Matt Reynolds rose to the occasion and hit the home run that proved to be the game winner in the Mets’ 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals at Citi Field. It was his first major league home run.
“That was probably one of the biggest moments I’ve had in my career,” Reynolds said after the game. “It was a great feeling to help the team win.”
Reynolds, 25, was a second round pick for the Mets in 2012, but you never saw his name among the upper echelon of the organization’s top prospects.
A career .275 hitter in the minors, that’s essentially what Reynolds is batting in his short time with the Mets, and in just 29 at-bats he’s already collected six RBIs with the big-league club.
What was more amazing for Reynolds on Wednesday, was seeing him start the game in left field much to the consternation of Mets Twitter.
But Matty sure showed them as he handled it with grace and athleticism – especially when you consider it was his first foray into the outfield in his professional career. Professional, that’s the word that describes Reynolds perfectly.
And while Michael Conforto struggles to the tune of a .227 batting average on the season – including an appalling .091 against left-handed pitching – perhaps Reynolds is the perfect tonic for a team who has gotten some pitiful production from the team’s other utility outfielder Alejandro De Aza.
With the team’s regulars seemingly dropping like flies, the timing was right for Reynolds who is pushing all the right buttons and saying all the right things.
“It’s not ideal to have players go down every single day,” Reynolds said. “But we’ve got a strong group of guys in here that never stop, and we’re going to keep playing together and play hard.”
Playing together and playing hard, that’s just the thing the Mets needed and it was that mentality that saw them eke out a pair of one-run victories against the defending World Series champs.
With Yoenis Cespedes expected to miss the next two games, look for some more Matt Reynolds in left or even right field if the Mets opt to move Curtis Granderson to center field. And count on this scrappy ballplayer to continue grinding it out and having fun as he takes full advantage of his opportunity to play at this level.
Like I said, I love a good underdog story.
