Walk, Jose, Walk

Decades ago, my dad used to say, "Every time you go to a ball game, you see something you never saw before." I've found that to be an exaggeration. But it's certainly true that one frequently spots something entirely new while watching one's 300th or 3,000th ball game.

Case in point: In last night's 5-1 Mets win, after going 4-for-4, Jose Reyes came to bat in the eighth inning with a chance to get on base for the fifth straight time. Now, Reyes has become notorious this year for refusing to take pitches. In fact, through 26 games and well over a hundred at bats, Reyes has yet to draw a single walk.

This is quite a problem for a leadoff hitter, and the airwaves and newspaper columns have been filled with debates about how Mets management ought to handle it. Bench Reyes? Drop him down in the lineup? Order him to take the first two pitches in each at-bat? Create sanctions or incentives to encourage Reyes to be more patient? Or (my preferred approach) just give him a good shaking? (So far, rookie manager Willie Randolph is taking a wait-and-see attitude, saying he doesn't want to impair Jose's "aggressiveness." Classic example of how the wrong vocabulary impedes clarity of thought: "Aggressiveness" is one thing, "ignorance of the strike zone" something else altogether.)

Anyway, with the game well in hand and the fans in a good mood, Jose got ahead in the count 2-0, then took a strike, then a third ball. The crowd got excited and started chanting, "Walk! Walk!" Watching on TV, it was obvious that Jose heard the chants; he was grinning a little sheepishly as he waited for the next pitch.

Well, Reyes ended up grounding out on a 3-2 pitch, so he's still looking for his first walk of the season. But this was a first for me--a crowd chanting, "Walk! Walk!" at a particular player who they felt needed some coaching in the art of taking pitches.

What a game.

P.S. As I write, tonight's game is on in the background, and in the first inning Jose Reyes just worked out a full count . . . then took a called third strike. Okay, Jose, now we work on when to take a pitch.