José Bernabe Reyes (born June 11, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He played most notably at shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Colorado Rockies.
Reyes is a four-time MLB All-Star. He led MLB in triples in 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2011. Reyes also led the National League (NL) in stolen bases in 2005, 2006, and 2007. He was the NL batting champion in 2011. He is also the New York Mets' all-time leader in triples (113) and stolen bases (408).
Minor league career Reyes was spotted by New York Mets scouts during a tryout camp in Santiago in the summer of 1999. After initial concerns over Reyes' slight frame, the Mets offered him a contract, which he signed on August 16, 1999. Despite traditionally sending youngsters to play in their Dominican academy, the Mets made an exception with Reyes and sent him to the Kingsport Mets of the Rookie-level Appalachian League for the 2000 season. He finished the season with a .250 batting average in 49 games.
For the 2001 season, Reyes was assigned to the Capital City Bombers of the Class A South Atlantic League. He excelled both in the field and at the plate, hitting .307 with 42 extra-base hits and winning the Player of the Year award.
After being invited to spring training with the major league Mets, Reyes began the 2002 season with the St. Lucie Mets in the Class A-Advanced Florida State League. In the first three months of the season, he demonstrated that he could handle the step up, and was promoted to the Binghamton Mets of the Double-A Eastern League. In his first game, Reyes had five hits and four RBIs, and he completed the season with a .287 average, 27 steals and 26 extra-base hits in 65 games.
On December 15, 2002, the Mets traded starting shortstop Rey Ordóñez to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Two weeks later, the Mets signed veteran Rey Sánchez to a one-year deal, with the plan being to allow Reyes to mature in the minors while Sanchez kept the big-league spot warm for him. Reyes spent the first two months of the 2003 season with the Norfolk Tides of the Triple-A International League, where he batted .269 and stole 26 bases in just 42 games.
Injuries to Mike Piazza and Mo Vaughn had contributed to the Mets' poor performance in the National League East, and eventually convinced manager Art Howe to begin playing some of the team's younger talent. When Rey Sánchez strained his thumb on June 5, 2003, Reyes received his call-up to the majors.
Major League career
New York Mets (2003–11)
2003–05 Reyes made his major league debut on June 10, 2003, against the Texas Rangers, the day before his 20th birthday, going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored in a 9–7 loss. Reyes was the first teenager to play for the Mets since Gregg Jefferies in 1987, and the first to start a game since Dwight Gooden in 1984. After the game, Reyes collected the ball from his first career hit and sent it to his parents. Over the following weeks Reyes' impressive form continued, including a grand slam off Jarrod Washburn in an 8–0 victory over the Angels. When Rey Sánchez completed his month-long spell on the DL, Reyes' strong play moved Sánchez to the bench.
Reyes' season was cut short a month early by a sprained ankle, but he still managed to compile impressive rookie numbers. In 69 games, he batted .307 with 32 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Reyes finished 8th in voting for the 2003 NL Rookie of the Year.
Prior to the 2004 season, the Mets signed Japanese star Kazuo Matsui, whose only condition upon signing was that he got a chance to play his regular position, shortstop. As a result, Reyes was asked to learn second base duties. Early on in the season, Reyes strained a hamstring and remained on the DL until June 19.
When he returned, the Mets were involved in a close race in the National League East with the Marlins, Phillies, and Braves. However, a back problem for Reyes and injuries to other key Mets players led to a collapse and instead of being involved in a pennant race, the team found itself fighting to stay out of last place in the division. By the end of the season, Reyes had returned to his preferred position of shortstop, with Matsui moving to second base. Reyes ended a disappointing season with a batting average of .255, 14 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases in 53 games.
At the age of 21, Reyes was handed the leadoff spot in the Mets' lineup in his first full season in the major leagues. Despite struggling slightly with his plate discipline — he had only 27 walks in a league-high 733 plate appearances — he finished the season with solid numbers. In 161 games he had 48 extra-base hits, 58 RBIs and 60 stolen bases. Reyes led the National League in stolen bases and led the majors in triples. However, he also led all National League shortstops with 18 errors.
2006–07
During spring training in 2006, the Mets brought in former player Rickey Henderson as a specialist instructor. One of the reasons Henderson was hired was to help tutor Reyes in the arts of getting on base and stealing bases — skills at which Henderson excelled throughout his own career.
Reyes won Player of the Week honors in the National League for the weeks beginning June 12 and 19, becoming the first Mets player to be named the NL Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks since Jesse Orosco in 1983. During this two-week period Reyes had 32 hits in 57 at-bats (a .561 batting average) and raised his season batting average from .246 to .302. On June 21, 2006, in a 6–5 loss against the Cincinnati Reds Reyes hit for the cycle, becoming the ninth player in team history to do so.
Reyes' outgoing personality began to make him a fan favorite in New York. He became well known for the elaborate handshakes he creates with his teammates to celebrate runs scored. In his spots as "Professor Reyes", Reyes taught the Shea faithful the Spanish language between innings on the stadium's Diamond Vision screen, helping to make him one of the Mets' most popular players.
On August 3, 2006, Reyes signed a four-year, $23.25 million contract extension with the Mets, thereby avoiding salary arbitration. The contract includes an $11 million option for 2011 with a buy-out of $500,000 if the Mets do not pick up the option. Reyes also received a $1.5 million signing bonus.
On August 15, 2006, Reyes hit three home runs in an 11–4 loss against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. 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. Reyes was timed at 14.81 seconds for his dash around the bases — the equivalent of running a circular 100-meter dash in about 13.5 seconds.
As the 2006 season wound down, Reyes was in pursuit of an unusual feat — reaching 20 home runs, 20 triples, 20 doubles, and 20 stolen bases. Reyes finished the 2006 regular season with an average of .300, 19 home runs, 81 RBIs, 122 runs, and 64 stolen bases in 153 games. He increased his on-base percentage by 54 points, and his slugging percentage was almost 100 points higher than in 2005. Reyes' walk rate nearly doubled — in 30 fewer plate appearances, he went from 27 walks to 53. He also showed similar improvement in the field — in 2006 he had a range factor of 3.86, the lowest of all major league shortstops. Reyes picked up a Silver Slugger Award, was called up to his first All-Star Game, and finished 7th in NL MVP voting.
The Mets clinched their spot in the playoffs, and Reyes experienced the postseason for the first time in his career. He 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 went on to lose, 3–1.
In November 2006, Reyes participated in the Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series along with teammates John Maine and David Wright. He hit a two-run walk-off home run in the 10th inning of Game 5, giving the MLB team their first sweep of their NPB rivals.
On July 12, 2007, Reyes hit the ninth leadoff home run of his career against Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo, setting a new record for the franchise.
In August, Reyes stole his 50th base of the year, becoming the first New York baseball player to steal 50 or more bases in three consecutive seasons. On August 22, 2007, Reyes stole his 65th, 66th, and 67th bases and broke Roger Cedeño's Mets record for the most stolen bases in a single season. August also saw Reyes tie the Mets record for stealing at least one base in four straight games.
In the last month of the season, Reyes' struggles were seen to be a key component of the Mets' late-season collapse. He batted .205 and had an on-base percentage of only .279. His struggles brought much criticism from Mets fans. On the second-to-last day of the regular season he was involved in a benches-clearing brawl against the Florida Marlins, which started when Miguel Olivo charged across the diamond and threw a punch at Reyes. Olivo would be ejected from the game and Reyes was allowed to stay in. The Mets would win the game 13–0. Reyes finished the season with a .280 batting average, 60 extra-base hits, 12 home runs, 57 RBIs, and 78 stolen bases in 160 games.
2008–09 In spring training and the early part of the 2008 season, Reyes vocalized a plan to focus a little more on baseball, and a little less on the theatrics — such as his dugout dances after home runs — that drew criticism during the late part of 2007 when the Mets were struggling. One of the casualties of this change of focus was the "Professor Reyes" segment played between innings at Shea where he taught the fans Spanish words and phrases. This was replaced by "Maine Street USA" with John Maine, and "Do The Wright Thing" with David Wright, which failed to match the popularity of Reyes' spots. However, with some prodding by his teammates, Reyes was encouraged to continue playing with the same energy as he had previously.Pascarelli, Peter (April 19, 2008). "It's time for Reyes to be Reyes", ESPN.com, Accessed April 19, 2008.
On July 3, Reyes' childhood friend Argenis Reyes was called up from the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs. When Argenis played, he and Reyes made up the middle infield for the Mets, with Argenis Reyes at second base. On July 20, Reyes overtook Mookie Wilson as the Mets' all-time triples leader after legging out his 63rd career triple in the fourth inning of a game against the Cincinnati Reds.
On September 10, Reyes broke the Mets' all-time record for stolen bases, previously held by Mookie Wilson, with his 282nd career stolen base coming in the third inning of a game against the Washington Nationals. After stealing second to break the record, he then stole third and scored the go-ahead run on a single by David Wright. On September 23, 2008, Reyes achieved his first 200-hit season with a bases-clearing triple. He is the second Mets player to reach this landmark, after Lance Johnson in 1996. Reyes finished the season with a batting average of .297, with 72 extra-base hits (including a majors-leading 19 triples), 68 RBIs and 56 stolen bases.