LET ME AT HIM! Mets third base coach Chip Hale restrains Jose Reyes after Reyes was called out on a questionable call in the eighth inning when he tried to stretch a double into a triple. (AP)
WASHINGTON — General manager Sandy Alderson called Jose Reyes the Mets’ “catalyst” before last night’s game, and the shortstop picked an unusual way to spark the team in the 6-3 come-from-behind win over the Nationals.
After getting called out by third base umpire Marvin Hudson with one out in the eighth, Reyes erupted and nearly got tossed when Hudson ruled that Reyes’ hand came off the base and Jerry Hairston, Jr. tagged him out.
“I went a little crazy,” said Reyes, who had been trying to stretch a double into a triple with the Mets down 2-1.
Replays showed Reyes didn’t come off the base, but the call — and his reaction — turned the game around.
Daniel Murphy answered with a pinch-hit homer and then the Mets added four more runs in the ninth.
“It changed everything,” Willie Harris said of the Reyes play.
Reyes has a tendency of doing that, and it’s something the general manager has noticed.
“He’s a very dynamic and important part of our team,” Alderson said. “He’s a tremendous catalyst, and I’ve been impressed with his athleticism.”
But not to the point where he knows what Reyes’ future is with the team.
“Am I any closer to making a decision? I guess chronologically, I am,” Alderson said of Reyes, who likely will be used as trade bait, because he will be a free agent after the season. “Time goes on, but so does the observation process.”
Many feel Reyes doesn’t fit Alderson’s model of a leadoff hitter because of his low on-base percentage. But nearly a month into the regular season, Alderson said he likes what he has seen of the shortstop — who has been able to stay healthy.
Just one part of Reyes’ game has caught Alderson off guard.
“The only real surprise, for me, is the sense of sheer joy he has in playing the game,” Alderson said. “You don’t see in a lot of players certainly doesn’t come through to the fans in a lot of players. That’s made an impression.”
That joy wasn’t apparent last night, when Reyes had to be held back by third base coach Chip Hale.
Overall, the only drawback to Reyes’ game this season has been an inability to hit with runners in scoring position.
Reyes said he isn’t worried about his situation with the Mets.
“I don’t want to impress nobody,” Reyes said. “I just want to play my game and help the team win games. I know I have to prove I can play a full season after the last two years.”