Jun 26 2012 10:18 AM
Now that Dock Doyle's drug-taking, Facebook-unfriending and sucking has gotten kicked off the Mets and out of my family, I've decided to replace him with a clean-cut Chrsitian, Jayce Boyd.
He's a righthanded hitting first baseman from FSU famous for being comfortable enough with his masculinity to play Miley Cyrus songs as his walk-up music. Here he is signing a Mets contract at home with scout Jim Bryant.
I like this guy because as a first baseman, he'll have to hit like crazy to move up the ladder. The knock on his game was a seeming lack of power but the Mets seem to believe he's got it in him. His batting eye and glove are already well thought of so he could be a mover.
Boyd going pro Tate High grad leaves FSU, signs deal with N.Y. Mets by Bob Heist Just inside the front door of David and Cyndi Boyd’s home near Cantonment sits an entry room devoted to their three children. It’s impossible to miss the one wall covered with photos of Maegen, Crystal and Jayce. And that’s what stood out most Monday, as Jayce Boyd officially left Florida State following his junior year to sign a professional baseball contract with the New York Mets. Tucked in the middle of all those photos was Boyd, just 5 or 6 at the time, with gelled up hair, the collar up on a leather jacket, doing an impersonation of Arthur Fonzarelli. Professional journeys have to start somewhere, right? “He watched baseball on TV all the time, and when he was 10, that’s the first time he figured out you could make money playing baseball — that it could be a job,†Cyndi said. “And that’s when he decided baseball is what he wanted his job to be. “That makes this all so special. It’s very special when you get to see your kids reach their goals.†Selected in the sixth round of the recent Major League Baseball draft, Boyd — a 6-foot-3, 200-pound first baseman — agreed to a $150,000 bonus Monday, signing a contract brought to the family home by Mets area scout Jim Bryant. From the first home run he hit for the Sun Belt Mariners at age 5 at the NEP Ball Park off Nine Mile Road, to becoming a high school All-American at Tate, to two College World Series appearances in three seasons at FSU, a dream became reality at 5:49 p.m. with the stroke of a pen. Next stop, Brooklyn. Boyd leaves Wednesday to join the Mets’ short-season Class A club in the New York-Penn League. “It’s just one of those steppingstones that you finally reach. And knowing that you actually got to it, that’s awfully special to me,†said Boyd. “It’s not a surreal thing, because this is what I’ve wanted to do my whole life. But to know that I get to start that in the next couple of days, that’s really awesome.†Boyd certainly takes a full resume with him to the pros from FSU. In three seasons with the Seminoles, he had a career batting average of .349. In 2012, Boyd led the ACC in the regular season, batting .395, was a first-team all-conference pick and a second-team All-American by Louisville Slugger. “I think he’s a station-to-station guy (climbing through the minor leagues). I think you’ll see him in the (Advanced-A) Florida State League next year ... and then it’s just a matter of time before he’s with Binghamton, our Double-A club,†Bryant said. “From there, it’s a very short jump to the big leagues. “I don’t see any problem with Jayce handling the minor leagues ... I honestly see him in the big leagues in three, three and a half years.†But back to the “Fonzie†get up. Who would have ever thought that little boy in the picture would some day be on a journey to New York City and, possibly, one day standing at first base at Citi Field for the Mets. “I’ve been playing baseball forever, and there are so many moments that standout in my mind,†Boyd said. “I remember playing T-ball and hitting my first home run ... and my mom is freaking out. “It’s all kinds of things like that through the years, those really special things you’ll never forget because of baseball, that make today so special.†Then he added: “This has always been my dream, but it’s also part of the journey. I can’t wait to see what’s next.†|
