COOPERSTOWN — Even dur ing Hall of Fame weekend the Mets are Team Chaos. Rickey Henderson, who was inducted into the Hall yesterday, said Jose Reyes has struggled with leg injuries this season because he has gotten away from what had been his strong suit — running a bit like Rickey, baseball’s all-time stolen base leader.
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“I thought Reyes would be the type of player who would steal 100 bases,” Henderson told The Post, “but he’s gotten away from his strength. I think he wanted to be a power hitter and got away from all that. When you do that, and then you try to steal a few bases, you’re going to pull something and that’s what’s happened.”
Henderson worked as a coach with the Mets in 2007 and was hired to try to help Reyes improve his running game. He said Reyes was a “good kid,” but has lost his way because of injuries and because he has tried to be more of a power hitter.
Reyes, 26, has appeared in just 36 games this season because of leg injuries and has not played since May 20. He first injured his right calf but the injury developed into a torn hamstring. Reyes is rehabbing in Port St. Lucie and the Mets are saying he could return in several weeks. However, he is still not running at full speed. This has been a wasted season for Reyes.
Henderson said Reyes needs to do more stretching to avoid leg injuries. If not, he said, Reyes could be “haunted” by such injuries his entire career. In 2004 Reyes was limited to 53 games because of leg injuries.
Henderson said he suffered similar injuries in 1987 with the Yankees. Henderson’s mother, a nurse, finally convinced him to shut it down for the season to rest the hamstring, because that was the only way his leg was going to heal.
The Mets are one of the most embarrassing teams in baseball. They’ve suffered from front-office dysfunction to Tony Bernazard temper tantrums to significant injuries to Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado.
Henderson, the greatest leadoff hitter in the history of the game, knows it all begins at the top of the lineup. A big reason the Mets have struggled is because they do not have Reyes igniting the offense.
Reyes has only 11 stolen bases. He stole a career high 78 bases in 2007, the year Henderson was coaching with the Mets.
“Rickey really knows the game,” explained Padres GM Kevin Towers, who brought his mother to the induction ceremonies because she is such a big Rickey Henderson fan.
Towers said he believes Henderson is one of the top overall players in the history of the game.
After his entertaining speech, Henderson met with the media and said he would love to become a first base coach with a major league club. He said teams need to get back to the running game.
Reyes, when healthy, should always have the green light to steal bases. The Mets need to get Reyes back on the right track and need to get him back to running with no fear. Reyes has incredible speed but does not understand the nuances of base-running the way he should to get the most out of his ability.
Henderson, who was inducted along with Red Sox slugger Jim Rice, said Billy Martin is the reason he became the game’s greatest base stealer. In Henderson’s 14-minute speech, he talked about everything from not getting an autograph from then-A’s star Reggie Jackson when he was a youngster to joking that he was “bribed” by a high school counselor to play baseball to his love of Muhammad Ali, but when he talked about Martin he became emotional.
“Billy, I miss you very much and I wish you were here with me today,” Henderson said.
Rickey learned much from Martin. The Mets and Reyes would be wise to listen to Rickey.