MLB

Reyes happy to be playing for a contender again

Mets fans aren’t alone.

It has been nearly eight years since Carlos Beltran looked at the last strike of the 2006 NLCS, nearly six since the Mets missed out on the playoffs on the last day of the season for the second straight year.

And sometimes, Jose Reyes can’t help but look back and wonder how the pennant that was well within reach always remained just beyond their grasp.

“Sometimes, it goes through my mind, yeah. I say, ‘How [do we not] make at least one World Series with the ballclub that we had?’” Reyes said Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. “It’s hard to think about. The closest we got was 2006. We were one hit away to go to the World Series, but we weren’t able to get it done.

“We had a couple years in New York we should’ve at least made it to the World Series one or two times and we weren’t able to do that. We had three straight years with an unbelievable ballclub and we weren’t able to do anything. It’s a little bit disappointing because as a player you work so hard to get to the playoffs. … It is what it is. In baseball you never know what’s going to happen.”

Since 2008, Reyes has played for three franchises and never finished higher than fourth-place, playing on teams which have averaged less than 74 wins over the past five seasons.

Now, with the first-place Blue Jays, Reyes is ecstatic to be back on a contender and it’s just as good as he remembered.

“It’s been a long [time]. I missed that,” said Reyes. “It’s a different feeling, for sure. We’re playing good baseball now. … This year we have a very good opportunity to [make the playoffs] and hopefully we can continue to play the way that we’ve played so far.”

Leading off a lineup with an MLB-best 92 home runs — led by sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion — Reyes has bounced back from a sluggish April, in which he hit .205 and spent time on the disabled list, and was hitting .269, with a .322 average in June, heading into Tuesday’s game.

Finally healthy, Reyes stole 11 bases in May, marking only the second time he has swiped double-digit bags in a month since leaving the Mets.

Though the season is still young, Reyes has renewed confidence, as part of an offense the shortstop hasn’t seen since he was young, when Beltran, David Wright and Carlos Delgado were driving him home.

“It’s like ’06. I always say that. It reminds me a lot of 2006 with the Mets,” said Reyes. “These guys here are unbelievable. Every time you see them at home plate, it’s like they’re going to hit a homer.

“For me, my job is to get on base. If I get on base, I’m going to score one way or another. That’s the way that I feel. I feel I’m going to touch home plate in the same inning because of the great hitters I have behind me.”