Mar 22 2006 06:49 AM
Reyes off and running
By JOHN DELCOS
jdelcos@lohud.com
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: March 22, 2006)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Ask any teacher, and he or she will say the same thing: Learning is easy when the student is enthusiastic.
Mets shortstop Jose Reyes couldn't have been more wide-eyed.
The Mets' leadoff hitter and the National League's reigning stolen-base leader was about to be introduced to the best ever in both categories: Rickey Henderson, a future Hall of Famer who's not quite ready to call it quits.
"I can't wait to meet him," Reyes said. "I'm ready to work."
The two chatted on the 90-minute bus ride here from Port St. Lucie, and Henderson held court around the batting cage during batting practice. Reyes and Carlos Beltran were among the listeners.
So was Julio Franco, who, even at the age of 47, was still taking notes.
"He's the best at what he does," Franco said. "The day you stop learning is the day to go home."
That's a concept some never learn but one Reyes has already grasped.
"He can teach me a lot," Reyes said. "He's one of the best leadoff hitters ever in the game. He knows what I have to do to get better."
More important than knowing Reyes' flaws is that Henderson knows how to correct them. That's why he's in camp as a special instructor and will return later this summer.
That is, of course, unless Henderson hooks on with another major-league team. He's played with nine — including the Yankees and Mets — and had four stints with Oakland and two with San Diego.
"One-eighty-seven," said Henderson, 47, when asked how much he weighed, one pound more than when he played and rang up 1,406 stolen bases, more than anybody who ever laced up spikes.
"Yeah, I can still run. I haven't gotten the opportunity to continue. But I love the game."
If nobody calls, Henderson envisions coaching becoming a full-time gig.
Reyes led the National League with 60 stolen bases last season but had only 27 walks with 78 strikeouts and a .300 on-base percentage.
On-base percentage is the lead domino in stealing more bases and scoring more runs.
"My job is to get on base," Reyes said. "I have to get on for the big guys."
Which, of course, is not that easy, said Henderson, who considers Reyes a raw talent, one who has been excelling more on his natural physical abilities than on skill.
When he combines the two, the Mets will have a star.
"He can steal as many bases as he wants to," Henderson said. "The question is whether he wants to."
"I'll get more than 60, for sure," Reyes said.
How?
Henderson said Reyes has a lot to learn at the plate, and more once he reaches first base.
For starters, Reyes has to learn how to hit. Even though Reyes had 190 hits last season, Henderson said there's more Reyes can do at the plate, and it seems so simple.
"He has to be able to hit the fastball," Henderson said. "I wasn't going to miss the fastball. And he has to learn how to hit with two strikes."
When a hitter times himself for a fastball, he can adjust to the slower breaking ball, and when a hitter can protect himself with two strikes, even if he doesn't get a hit, he could prolong the at-bat for a walk or to advance the runner.
"I swung at a lot of bad pitches last year," Reyes said. "Last year, I didn't take a walk. This year, I will be more patient. I'm going to be aggressive and look for my pitch."
Once on base, Reyes admits he falls into a trap common with a lot of base stealers these days in that they try to outrun the ball.
"I use my speed," Reyes said. "I have to learn to read the pitchers better."
Not only that, Henderson said, but he also has to get a better lead and jump, which is where the base is stolen.
Henderson placed a bottle of water on the ground and compared the initial pivot step taken by most runners to his slide step with his right leg, the one closest to the next base.
"You have to stay low, like a sprinter," said Henderson, who, with his first step consistently landed at least a foot closer to the bottle than he did the conventional way.
Above all, Henderson said Reyes needs to develop the mentality of not caring if he gets caught.
"You have to keep running," Henderson said. "I always believed I was going to be safe."
Reach John Delcos at jdelcos@lohud.com.