Looking back on the season, there are a few things that stood out to me about how it all turned out, but the one hope that I had was that Jordany Valdespin, better known to Mets fans as JV1, was going to turn into a very good ball player and mainly because his speed reminded me a lot of Jose Reyes. Pure speed running around the bases; turning singles into doubles, doubles into triples and if at all possible, a full lap around the bases without the ball leaving the park. That all equals to exciting baseball, just like Reyes used to bring everyday.
The type of talent that JV1 possessed and I use the past tense, because after he was suspended for his part in the Biogensis scandal, which I was fully shocked, there is no telling how he will return. My hope is that he comes back with a new attitude, a desire to prove that he can still perform, remain out of the spotlight and to prove to the Mets fans that this ordeal helped him to grow up and show that he belongs.
We all have opinions on what the Mets should do with JV1, and there is no guarantee that he fits into their outfield plans, but they still need good quality bats off the bench, especially players with speed. He may not be that RBI machine off the bench, but his speed and athleticism in late innings is truly needed to help bring in that needed run in tight games.
He has been playing in the Dominican Winter league and in 17 games he is batting .196/.369/.317, with a double, triple, two home runs, in 48 at bats. Not nearly the numbers he put up with Las Vegas right after his demotion in July when he hit .471, with four doubles, a triple, three home runs, 22 RBI’s in 53 at bats. And I can say the gaudy numbers were nothing more than wanting to prove to the Mets’ brass that sending him down was a mistake. But no one ever questioned his abilities, just the arrogant style that he brought to the team. Many can argue on his behalf, but at the end of the day, in order for him to find himself back in the Mets plans, a total transformation probably needs to occur.
If he turns it all around, the Mets will have a great threat off the bench and a viable glove to make spot starts in the outfield.
David,
I appreciate your article, but it reads more like a quick footnote and Valdespin’s Mets experience was much more than that. It seems that a stronger, smarter manager would have gotten more out of Valdespin. He was lied to, he was ostracized, and he was embarrassed.
Now, he definitely deserved some level of scorn with his antics, but the organization should have squashed that or sent him down much earlier than they did.
I point out the manager because while teammates may hate your guts, the manager needs to be above that thing. Instead, Collins was more immature than the clowns he was managing. We all see some talent in Valdespin, and even if he is just a utility player, a team needs those. However, the Mets like to shut out people like Valdespin and Backman because management egos aren’t checked at the door.
When an organization is run by fools, foolish decisions just don’t stop. Let’s just backtrack:
April 2013: Outfield was an open competition in spring training. What if Valdespin, who hit .375 in spring training, gets a starting position even a platoon. We would have much more knowledge of where he is at. However, a combination of Baxter and Cowhill absorb enough at bats to stifle his hot start.
Not saying Valdespin is a good person; not saying he’s a good player; just saying that the situation was mishandled and these last four years many situations are mishandled. There isn’t a consistency in outcomes. Alderson blew up the team, but wanted to keep Wright because his boss likes him. Reyes wasn’t traded because he was winning a batting title. Collins has “open competitions” but doesn’t reward the winners. Collins plays favorites but is a fair manager.
How can a team win with only keeping to its principles sometimes? Division and confusion will certainly set in.
TexasGusCC
Thanks for your feedback.
I agree with you, but at this point and because of the Biogenesis involvement and how they feel his arrogance played a role into how everything played out, he basically has to do whatever he can to make his way back, and yes he wasn’t treated fairly, I felt that way also, but I think he is up against the wall with not many options. His playing time is in the hands of Terry Collins and unless they like what they see, he will find himself buried in the minors until they see fit to bring him up. Its really not fair where he stands, but at this point its all he has to go with.
He is at the mercy of his employer, even if he feels its unfair, what options does he really have. The best thing is do his best until he can make a decision for his future on his own.
David, JV1 is screwed. They don’t care about him, but because he may turn out to be good if another team focuses him, they won’t cut him.
I can write for hours on how I feel Alderson has stifled this team’s growth, but one area is allowing a manager that clearly favors the veteran over a younger player, but you have a rebuilding team. Really makes me want to get a new team. Just hard to understand their logic.
Valdespin has a long track record of indifference and aberrant behavior that predates Terry Collins. In fact, when he worked in player development, Collins was one of the biggest supporters of JV1. When Valdespin played in Binghamton he was continually defying Wally Backman’s expectations of how the game needs to be played. Wally would bench him for failing to run out ground balls or similar things, Valdespin would return and play hard, but his new approach had no staying power and before long he returned to his old habits.
Some guys are cancerous in a locker room. It appears as if Valdespin could be one of them. I’ve been hoping JV1 would look long and hard at himself and make the personal changes in attitude and approach he needs to cut weight as a professional baseball player. That wait is running on five years which makes me wonder if that kind of change is possible. Until he demonstrates that kind of growth the risks far outweigh the advantages to even consider him on the big league roster. There are simply too many guys of equal or near equal ability eager to accept instruction needed to learn and play within a team concept.
I think the comparing the numbers from AAA Vegas (a launching pad) with Licey Winterball stats just shows that he is a streak hitter.