So How Great Was Jose Reyes' Season Anyway?

Come closer to the screen.  I want to let you in on a little secret.  Are you with me?  Okay, here goes.

Jose Reyes won the National League batting title this year.

What was that?  You knew that already?  You want me to tell you something you don't know?  Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you.  In fact, I have a number of things to tell you that you probably didn't know.  And once I tell you, you'll see that Jose Reyes' 2011 season was even greater than you originally thought.

 You had to look up to see Jose Reyes' name all over the National League leaderboard in 2011.

Jose Reyes batted .337 in 2011, the third-highest single season batting average in franchise history for a player who played the entire season as a Met.  (Mike Piazza batted .348 in 109 games for the Mets in 1998, but he also spent time with the Dodgers and Marlins that year.)  Naturally, Reyes' batting average represented a career high.  But he also set career highs in on-base percentage (.384), slugging percentage (.493) and OPS (.877).

Reyes also finished among the league leaders in hits (181), multi-hit games (57), runs scored (101), triples (16) and stolen bases (39).  He accomplished all this while playing in only 126 games due to his dual trips to the disabled list.

Fine.  You can find that information anywhere.  Now let's delve deeper into his final numbers.

On May 19, Jose Reyes went 0-for-3 with a walk.  The following day, he went 0-for-4.  That was the only time during the 2011 season in which Reyes went hitless in consecutive starts.  (On September 17 and 18, Reyes also failed to collect a hit.  However, he did not start the game on September 18, going 0-for-1 in a pinch-hitting appearance.)  Furthermore, since Reyes drew a base on balls in the May 17th game, that means he was never kept off base in consecutive games all year.  Let me repeat that in caps and bold it for greater effect.

NEVER DID JOSE REYES FAIL TO REACH BASE IN CONSECUTIVE GAMES ALL YEAR.

If you didn't see Reyes standing (or sliding) safely on/into a base in a game this year, all you had to do was wait until the next game.  There was a 100% chance you'd see him on base then.

Although Jose Reyes has always been a bit of a free swinger, he has never been one to strike out very much.  (Reyes' career high in strikeouts is 82, which he accomplished in 2008.)  But he had never made such consistent contact until this year.

In 2011, Reyes struck out 41 times in 537 official at-bats, an average of one strikeout every 13.1 at-bats.  Reyes was the toughest man to strike out in the National League, with every other player striking out at least once every 11 at-bats.  Yadier Molina finished second in this category, striking out once every 10.8 at-bats (44 Ks in 475 AB).

Let's put Reyes' numbers into perspective.  For Yadier Molina to have finished with a better K/AB rate than Reyes, he would have had to register 40 more at-bats in 2011 without striking out in any of them.  Also, if Reyes had picked up 10 more at-bats and had struck out all ten times, Molina would have surpassed him.  But Reyes only struck out more than ten times in a calendar month once, when he whiffed 11 times in April, so it would have been very unlikely for him to strike out in ten consecutive at-bats.  In fact, Reyes never struck out more than twice in any game this year and he fanned more than once in a game only six times, never doing so after July 24.

 Reyes the slugger?  Absolutely, as you'll read in the next paragraph.

Finally, let's take a look at the National League leaders in slugging percentage.  (You can find that info by clicking here.)  Jose Reyes finished 17th in the National League in slugging percentage.  He did so while hitting only seven home runs.  Why is that worth mentioning?  Because the other 16 players who finished ahead of Reyes hit at least 22 HR.

What makes this more amazing is that Reyes was the only player in the top 34 to hit fewer than 14 HR.  Therefore, Reyes finished the season as one of the best "sluggers" in the league even though the other 33 players in the top 34 all hit at least twice as many home runs as he did.  Of course, Reyes collected 47 extra-base hits that WEREN'T home runs (31 doubles, 16 triples).  The only player in the National League who topped Reyes in that category was the Rockies' Dexter Fowler, who hit 35 doubles and 15 triples.

Those are just a few examples of how great Jose Reyes' 2011 season was.  Reyes was more than just a high average hitter.  He was as consistent a hitter as the Mets have ever had in a single season.  He put the ball in play with more regularity than any Met in their 50-year existence and once he put the ball in play, he wasn't just satisfied with dinking and dunking singles here and there.

Jose Reyes had one of the most amazing seasons in Mets history in 2011.  Let's hope the Mets re-sign him so we can enjoy more seasons such as this one.

If It's October 19, It Must Be Molina Time

Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson was known as Mr. October to baseball fans, primarily because of the three home runs he hit on three pitches in the deciding sixth game of the 1977 World Series.

If Mr. Candy Bar was Mr. October, then the Flying Molina Brothers (Yadier and Bengie) can both claim to be Mr. October 19.

Last night, big brother Bengie became the second Molina to hit a crushing home run against a New York team on an October 19. With the Rangers down 3-2 to the Yankees in the sixth inning, A.J. Burnett intentionally walked David Murphy to pitch to Funky Cold Molina.

Earlier in the game, Burnett harpooned the rotund Molina with a pitch. This time, Burnett decided to add a sixth inning insult to the third inning injury by choosing to pitch to Molina rather than Murphy with two outs in the inning. This time, Molina was the one who hit Burnett hard, as he whaled a pitch over the left field wall for a go-ahead three-run HR. The shot put the Rangers ahead 5-3, a lead they would never relinquish.

New York had been stung by another big home run by a member of the Flying Molina Brothers, as four years ago to the day, little brother Yadier hit a go-ahead two-run homer against former Met whipping boy, Aaron F. Heilman in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.

Editor's note: We'd show you a photo of Yadier Molina hitting the home run off Aaron F. Heilman, but instead we'll show you the cover of the Faith and Fear in Flushing book, written by the Tom Seaver of Mets bloggers, Greg Prince. Go read the book (and the blog of the same name). It's an Amazin' read!


The third member of the Flying Molina Brothers (Jose Molina) played for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010, but he was a member of the World Champion Yankees last year. However, he did not get a chance to play on October 19 last year (Game 3 of the ALCS), as the Yankees were taking on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the Western Hemisphere of the Planet Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy. His sole appearance in a major league game on October 19 came during Game 1 of the 2002 World Series, as a member of the then one-named Anaheim Angels, when he came in as a ninth inning defensive replacement for his brother, Bengie.

Perhaps Jose Molina is adopted, as he has not delivered a crushing blow to a New York team on October 19, which is the biggest national holiday in Molinaville.

Bengie Molina celebrates not being the fattest man in baseball, a title held by the man in the Yankee dugout, C(onstantly) C(hewing) Sabathia.

Regardless, Bengie Molina can now say he is a true Molina, as he joined Yadier in delivering series-changing home runs against a New York team on the 19th of October.

Reggie Jackson might have had a candy bar named after him and might have made the Hall of Fame despite holding the major league record for career strikeouts, but his legacy was cemented by his repeated post-season heroics, earning him the nickname "Mr. October".

In addition to sharing a last name, Yadier and Bengie Molina can now share the "Mr. October 19" moniker. Move over, Reggie Jackson. There's a whole family coming after you.

The Flying Molina Brothers Stick It To The Mets Again!

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No...it's those dang Flying Molina Brothers! Apparently, they've stuck it to the Mets once again. This time, it's Bengie's turn. The Giants' catcher chose to re-sign with San Francisco rather than come to the Mets.

After much speculation that Funky Cold Molina was going to be the Mets catcher in 2010, he chose to sign a one-year deal to remain in San Francisco with Kung Fu Panda and the Band. The deal is believed to be for $4.5 million, even though the Mets had offered more money and a second year option.

This is not the first time those Meddling Molina Boys have taken a hot poker and shoved it into the hearts of Mets fans.

If you recall, the youngest of the Flying Molina Brothers (Yadier) hit the go-ahead home run against Aaron F. Heilman in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, while middle brother Jose took his expert skills in backup catching and translated it into a World Series ring for the Yankees in 2009.



So why do Los Hermanos Molina always like to stick it to the Mets? Studious Metsimus has a theory about it.

Bengie, Jose and Yadier Molina are all catchers. They're all considered to be good to exceptional defensive catchers with above-average throwing arms. That's six arms to make enemies of opposing players.

Long-time Spider-Man villain Dr. Octopus has six arms (two human arms and four mechanical appendages that resemble arms). Who played Dr. Octopus in the recent Spider-Man 2 movie? None other than acclaimed actor Alfred Molina. You heard me right. The six-armed villain was named MOLINA!

Is it possible that the Flying Molina Brothers have a mentor/father figure in Alfred Molina? After all, Peter Parker/Spider-Man is from Queens and so are the Mets.

Are Bengie, Jose and Yadier Molina trying to stick it to the Mets in some twisted homage to the British actor? Are they even aware that Alfred Molina is British?

Bengie Molina will not be a New York Met in 2010. Yadier Molina will forever be around to remind Mets fans as to why they will always despise Aaron F. Heilman. Jose Molina will be able to shine his 2009 World Series ring in the Yankee dugout during those 100+ games that he sits on the bench.

The Flying Molina Brothers. As long as they are in opposing uniforms, they will always try to find a way to ruin the days and nights for Mets fans. It's time to take them down. Who's with me? Excelsior!