A Beautiful Sickness

Jose Reyes might be the best player in the NL east. He is one of the best players this season, and he might even be one of the best ever when it is all said and done. But when I see Jose Reyes walk to the plate I feel sick. A dreadful fear grips me deep in the pit of my stomach. I know that something great is about to happen, and I am not going to like it. They need a new stat for Jose Reyes. Earlier this season I saw a bloop hit drop just between the second baseman and the right fielder, and somehow Jose Reyes made it to second base. That wasn’t slugging. It was pure speed and instincts. The ball was picked up as soon as it hit the ground, but Reyes was already half way to second base. The way that ball was hit it had no right to be a double, but Reyes made it happen.


If Jose Reyes makes it to first he might as well already be on second, and if he is on second he might as well already be on third. He seemingly takes bases at will, and very well could be the first player in a long time to steal 100 bases. Jose Reyes is an amazing athlete. Even though he can single handedly manufacture a run to crush my team’s hopes, I still enjoy watching him play. He is one of the best of this generation, and we should all, as baseball fans, be pleased we get to witness it. Every move he makes is a crushing blow to the hopes of our teams winning, but every move he makes is also another move into legend.


Reyes isn’t just an offensive force either. Any ball hit between second and third could very well end up in Reyes glove, and his arm is good enough to make a throw from anywhere on the field. He moves with an effortless grace that no human has any right to move with. He can dive to his left, right, come in quickly, and run back on balls better than anyone.


I look forward to watching him play, but yet I hate it. Reyes scores runs and takes runs away from any team he plays. He could have succeeded at any sport in the world. Imagine Reyes running down the sidelines, streaking away from a defensive back, and reaching up to catch a 50 yard touchdown pass. Imagine him driving through the lane, leaping between two defenders, and rolling the ball into the basket. Imagine as he dribbles a soccer ball, switches it from the left to the right foot, and then curves it neatly beyond the goalies reach. Jose Reyes is a symbol of what is right with sports. He is the type of athlete we spend our money to watch, even if we are spending it to watch him beat our favorite team.