It took one day in Brooklyn, on a Single-A field of dreams called MCU Park, where the famous Coney Island roller coaster they call the Cyclone looms large beyond left field, to remind you why Jose Reyes belongs in New York, even to convince you this is so much of a baseball marriage between star and star-craved franchise that at the end of the day, he will indeed sign with the Mets.
The line on Reyes, No. 7 for the Cyclones — one run, one hit (a double), no errors (one chance), no heat stroke (95 degrees) and no hamstring worries across six innings — means the rehab assignment was a smashing success, that Mets manager Terry Collins will plug his leadoff man and shortstop back in the lineup for tonight and forever.
But the Reyes-New York storyline did not end there. Because once he had showered, changed into a gray T-shirt and tan cargo pants and bought dinner for his wide-eyed teammates, Reyes walked outside into a tunnel of love.
A crowd of 8,126 showed up yesterday — 1,000 tickets were bought over the preceding 24 hours, once it became official Reyes would be a Cyclone For A Day. And now, approximately 100 fans lined police barricades to his left and right, screaming his name, imploring him to stop and sign anything and everything they could wave in his direction.
And he did. They pulled a black van close to the curb outside the exit, yet Reyes was in no hurry to get in for the ride back to Citi Field. It was 3 p.m., and the sun remained merciless.
And within a minute, a chant went up: “Keep Jose! Keep Jose! Keep Jose!”
Reyes smiled that multi-million-dollar smile and kept signing. Now a second chant, one that began at Shea and has carried to Citi Field: “Jo-se, Jo-se, Jo-se, Jo-se . . .”
Reyes signed several baseballs held by a police officer before signing for fans on the other side of the other barricade.
“Jo-se, Jo-se, Jo-se, Jo-se . . .”
As security steered him into the black van, Reyes again could hear: “Keep Jose! Keep Jose! Keep Jose!”
Back inside the Cyclones clubhouse, manager Rich Donnelly marveled at how Reyes conducted himself, leaving his young charges with everlasting memories.
“All the kids went out and got their phones and took pictures of the lineup card with his name on it and their name on it,” Donnelly said. “So some day, they can tell their grandkids they played with a Hall of Famer.”
The beauty of Reyes is if you build it, he will come. And come with that smile.
“If you didn’t know who he was, you thought he was just on our team,” Donnelly said. “The music was going, guys were playing ping-pong, he’s joking, laughing like they do. . . . He’s a kid, he’s still a kid at heart.”
Donnelly said he thinks New York remains a great fit for Reyes.
“I think he loves it,” Donnelly said. “I think he embraces the whole city, I really do. He grew up in this organization, and I think he feels comfortable here.”
But will he give a hometown discount to stay?
“I don’t know if he’s gonna give them a discount,” Donnelly said with a chuckle. “When it comes to the agents and stuff, you never know. But I think if all things are even, he’d like to stay here.”
Donnelly called Reyes a baseball “freak” and said: “He may be the best player that ever played in Brooklyn since the Dodgers.”
He needs to be King of Queens.
“These people think he’s one of them, and he acts like one of them,” Donnelly said. “Brooklyn fans are tremendous, but they’re outgoing, they’re brash. He’s brash, he’s outgoing. He’s talking to the other dugout, he’s talking to the fans. He does it in the big leagues. He enjoys the game.
“But the thing I liked most about him — when he came to the ballpark today, he walked in, he spent 45 minutes doing exercises and getting loose and getting ready. Then he went out and took groundballs. Then he went and hit. That’s what he does every day. . . . Everybody thinks these stars are born stars. They’re not. . . . And these guys will be telling their grandkids for years about this day.”
Guys like Brandon Brown and Danny Muno and Nelfi Zapata and Cole Frenzel and Randy Fontanez and Charley Thurber of Elmira.
“I feel like a little kid, because I’ve looked up to him growing up in New York and stuff, and to be in the same locker room with him and playing on the same team, it was like I was dreaming,” Thurber said. “It was like he was part of the team. Even in the dugout, he was talking to me about your swing. It wasn’t like he was an outsider at all. He didn’t act like a big leaguer. It was just awesome. It was an honor to play with him.”
All the Cyclones kids heard Brooklyn squealing for Reyes during the game.
“Everyone loves him here,” Muno said.
Even a hardened New Yorker was captivated by Reyes’ charisma.
“I was as much of a kid as the rest of the kids were,” Cyclones pitching coach Frank Viola said. “It’s nice to see somebody who’s attained what he’s done, come here, act so good to the kids. I mean, that impressed me more than anything. Dressed out there with them, he signed autographs for ’em — he did everything. He didn’t act like he was bigger than thou or anything else like that. That says a lot about the person he is.”
Viola, an ex-Met from Long Island, was asked if he thinks Reyes is made for New York.
“He’s got the personality for it,” Viola said.
A Reyes of hope for Mets fans everywhere.
“I’d say definitely he’s made for New York,” Frenzel said.
Amen.