Jose Reyes takes his hitting streak to 24-games as he improves sharply in second half - MLB Update
The Miami Marlins’ shortstop Jose Reyes makes drastic strides in his performance in the second half of the season. After floundering in the first half, he has now acquired a position in the line-up, for which he is known for. The responsibility of striking
hits right in the first inning is now being carried out by Reyes far more professionally than at any other time in the season.
As he improves his hitting streak to 24 games now, he rises to achieve the kind of consistency that the management wanted from him in the beginning of the season.
Reyes was incorporated in the roster by Miami during off-season. Signing an expensive $106 million contract with him from free agency, he was perceived by the fans as one of the players that will make team’s offence formidable.
The fans’ expectations were lifted by the glorious last season he had with the New York Mets and the kind of laurels that he achieved back then.
For the same reason when Reyes played in the season for Marlins, he had a point to prove. The challenge of living up to his reputation as a prolific hitter was to be met by him.
In order to get through, his approach in the beginning reflected a panic and hurried attitude toward connecting hits on plate. Due to this, he was unable to play his normal game. Thus, the penchant of getting himself acknowledged right away by fans became
the cause of his poor shows on plate.
Gradually when criticism arose and he adjusted to face a bitter reality of dismal batting average, he turned more inward looking. Indifferent to what fans think of him then, he began finding hits on the plate on a regular basis.
“In the beginning, maybe I tried to do too much,” Reyes said. “That wasn’t me.”
Reyes is happy that he has asserted his mettle finally. He was worried before but now he is pleased as he has begun unleashing what the management believes he is capable of.
“This is the Jose Reyes everybody knows, and I know,” he said. “Finally, I’m putting it together.”
The pace with which Reyes is striking hits, it is believed that he will be able to make up for the dismal numbers that he posted at the start of the season.
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