 Thursday, February 22, 2007
The Rickey Effect
2006 will be remembered for the Mets winning the NL East in a commanding fashion, their first division championship since 1988. Even thought starting pitching broke down completely (every opening day roster starter went down at some point in the season, and several of the replacements went down too) the bats did not break down. Carlos Beltran had an MVP year, the kind of year that Mets fans expected when he came over. People will argue that he “adjusted” to New York, I will argue it was the influence of Carlos Delgado in the clubhouse and behind him in the lineup. (Just look how David Wright’s numbers went down in the second half when Xavier Nady was no longer protecting him.)
Another reason the Mets had such a great year was Jose Reyes, the most exciting player in Major League Baseball. The Mets hired Rickey Henderson, the best leadoff hitter of all time, last year in Spring Training to work with Reyes. They worked on at-bat discipline, reading the pitcher, pitch selection and more. Rickey Henderson’s effect on Jose Reyes has been amazing. Rickey also came back mid-season for a follow-up (which was not really needed.) Jose already has the talent, now he has the experience and patience to foster it all the way to Cooperstown. Reyes had the kind of year that the wins championships. Rickey is back in Florida to work with Reyes this spring. Expect more of the same in 2007.
Posted by Steve in New York.
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