José Reyes (infielder)

José Bernabe Reyes (born June 11, 1983) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball infielder.

He played, most notably at shortstop, in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Colorado Rockies.

Reyes is a four-time MLB All-Star.

Reyes was the first teenager to play for the Mets since Gregg Jefferies in 1987, and the first to start a game since Dwight Gooden in 1984.

After the game, Reyes collected the ball from his first career hit and sent it to his parents.

Over the following weeks Reyes' impressive form continued, including a grand slam off Jarrod Washburn in an 8–0 victory over the Angels.

When Rey Sánchez completed his month-long spell on the DL, Reyes' strong play moved Sánchez to the bench.

Reyes' season was cut short a month early by a sprained ankle, but he still managed to compile impressive rookie numbers.

In 69 games, he batted .307 with 32 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.

Reyes was spotted by New York Mets scouts during a tryout camp in Santiago in the summer of 1999.

After initial concerns over Reyes' slight frame, the Mets offered him a contract, which he signed on August 16, 1999.

Despite traditionally sending youngsters to play in their Dominican academy, the Mets made an exception with Reyes and sent him to the Kingsport Mets of the Rookie-level Appalachian League for the 2000 season.

He finished the season with a .250 batting average in 49 games.

For the 2001 season, Reyes was assigned to the Capital City Bombers of the Class A South Atlantic League.

He excelled both in the field and at the plate, hitting .307 with 42 extra-base hits and winning the Player of the Year award.

After being invited to spring training with the major league Mets, Reyes began the 2002 season with the St. Lucie Mets in the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.

In the first three months of the season, he demonstrated that he could handle the step up, and was promoted to the Binghamton Mets of the Double-A Eastern League.

In his first game, Reyes had 5 hits and 4 RBIs, and he completed the season with a .287 average, 27 steals and 26 extra-base hits in 65 games.

On December 15, 2002, the Mets traded starting shortstop Rey Ordóñez to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Two weeks later the Mets signed veteran Rey Sánchez to a one-year deal, with the plan being to allow Reyes to mature in the minors while Sanchez kept the big-league spot warm for him.

Reyes spent the first two months of the 2003 season with the Norfolk Tides of the Triple-A International League, where he batted .269 and stole 26 bases in just 42 games.

Injuries to Mike Piazza and Mo Vaughn had contributed to the Mets' poor performance in the National League East, and eventually convinced manager Art Howe to begin playing some of the team's younger talent.

When Rey Sánchez strained his thumb on June 5, 2003, Reyes received his call-up to the majors, just a day before his 20th birthday.

Reyes made his major league debut on June 10, 2003, against the Texas Rangers, the day before his 20th birthday, going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored in a 9–7 loss.

Reyes finished 8th in voting for the 2003 NL Rookie of the Year.

Prior to the 2004 season, the Mets signed Japanese star Kazuo Matsui, whose only condition upon signing was that he got a chance to play his regular position, shortstop.

As a result, Reyes was asked to learn second base duties.

Early on in the season, Reyes strained a hamstring and remained on the DL until June 19.

When he returned, the Mets were involved in a close race in the National League East with the Marlins, Phillies, and Braves.

However, a back problem for Reyes and injuries to other key Mets players led to a collapse and instead of being involved in a pennant race, the team found itself fighting to stay out of last place in the division.

By the end of the season, Reyes had returned to his preferred position of shortstop, with Matsui moving to second base.

Reyes ended a disappointing season with a batting average of .255, 14 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases in 53 games.

At the age of 21, Reyes was handed the leadoff spot in the Mets' lineup in his first full season in the major leagues.

Despite struggling slightly with his plate discipline — he had only 27 walks in a league-high 733 plate appearances — he finished the season with solid numbers.

In 161 games he had 48 extra-base hits, 58 RBIs and 60 stolen bases.

Reyes led the National League in stolen bases and led the majors in triples.

He led MLB in triples in 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2011.

Reyes also led the National League (NL) in stolen bases in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

He was the NL batting champion in 2011.

He is also the New York Mets' all-time leader in triples and stolen bases.