If Your Birthday is June 11th...

...you share it with a player who clearly loves New York. Notice the socks Jose Reyes is wearing -- and how they depict the Manhattan skyline. They likely represent his feelings about getting a second chance in New York. After winning a National League batting title with the Mets, he left as a free agent for the Marlins, was traded to the Blue Jays and then the Rockies, where his career and life hit rock bottom after a domestic violence incident. The Mets brought him back during 2016, following his suspension from and release by Colorado. Taking over at 3rd base for the injured David Wright, Reyes provided speed at the top of the Mets batting order as they earned a wild card last October.
2017 hasn't gone as well -- two months into the season, Reyes has yet to hit his stride. It could be that the speed which defined him as a player, has begun to fade as it does when one approaches his mid-30s. The first Met ever to win a batting title is again playing before the fans who adored him -- even if he's approaching the final chapter of his career.

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