I'm not sure why anyone would anyone would criticize Jose Reyes for doing something that's pretty common when you have the lead in a close batting race. Just ask Ty Cobb (1910), Wade Boggs (1986 and 1988), Bill Mueller (2003), Bernie Williams (1998), Terry Pendleton (1991), George Brett (1990), Carney Lansford (1981), Tim Raines (1986), Bill Madlock (1976 and 1983), or Tony Gwynn (1988 and 1997). (Or Ken Griffey Sr (1976), who it didn't work out for.) Some of those guys didn't just leave the last game early - they skipped the whole game, or even more than one. And that's not even mentioning all the players who stopped playing in order to make sure their average didn't fall below .300, like Derek Jeter in 2008 , whose average fell to .300 in the third inning of the third-to-last game when he came out of the game and didn't play any more that year.
I'm also not sure why someone trying to take the "easy way" to a batting title would choose to start in a meaningless game against Roy Halladay with only a few games left in the season like Reyes did. (This may be controversial, but I'm going to say it - I think Roy Halladay might just be a better pitcher than Edinson Volquez.) |
MLB All-Star Appearances
MLB Missing Team By Player
MLB All-Stars (1990s)
