Some have compared the loss of Jose Reyes to the Tom Seaver Midnight Massacre. There are certain parallels to be sure. Star player leaves in part because of higher-ups being tight with money. And I say the following as somebody who was only six years old when Seaver was traded, and who still loves Jose Reyes to death, will defend his right to dance on the field, and will take a long time before he fully embraces Ruben Tejada as the shortstop of the Mets.
It’s not even close.
Forget that Seaver was traded rather than left via free agency. Forget that the Seaver trade threw the Mets into a dark era, where the Reyes defection comes during a time where the Mets have been in a dark era for a few years now. And forget that Reyes is a very, very, very good player while Seaver is a Hall of Famer. Put all of the above out of your mind.
I just recently got a chance to watch MLB Network’s Studio 42 where Bob Costas did an hour long interview with Seaver. First off, if you haven’t seen it, you’ve already done yourself the same disservice I did by waiting until Friday to watch it. But pay particular note of the part where Seaver is watching his press conference from June of ’77. Watch as Seaver first gets emotional watching a press conference from 35 years ago, and then … after Costas had already given Seaver the out from talking about the particulars of the whole M. Donald Grant mess, went on and talked about M. Donald Grant (paraphrased):
“When you give your heart to somebody and then they rip it back out of you … it was a lie. It was false. It was false. It was a false love affair. But not with the fans, not with my teammates, and not with the game.”
This was 35 years ago. And tears were in his eyes as he spoke. Flash forward 35 years (or approximately when the Mets finally stop paying Bobby Bonilla). Do you think that Jose Reyes will cry when Sean Casey asks him about his departure from the Mets? Will he hold a 35-year grudge against the Mets because their financial problems pushed him out the door, and took him away from his family? Or will he just tell you that “it’s a business and I had to move on”?
Seaver’s emotion is why us old-timers like to wax poetic about the lack of loyalty in today’s game. This is why we bemoan the lack of players who aim to spend their entire careers with one team. It’s also why we long for complete games, four divisions, no wild cards, and announcers like Lindsey Nelson. (Me personally, I’d settle for Lindsey.)
It’s also why the Reyes/Seaver comparison is nonsense.
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