Jan 17 2019 10:19 AM
The early reports on him were all full of praise, but with one big caveat. Somebody, maybe more than one somebody, was giving him a 20 on footspeed. Seeing as scouts rank players on a scale of 20-80, that seemed like it had to be overstated. Mo Vaughn was a 20, but even he could get up a head of steam.
I figured that the Mets have had slowfooted shortstops before — Santana, Ordóñez — so if that report was indeed exaggerated, it could still work out. And hey, there's certainly precedent for keeping a guy at short but moving him as he reaches the majors. That's what they did with Jefferies. (I chose to overlook the fact that it didn't really work out with Jefferies.)
But damn, if that was an exaggeration, it wasn't by much. It was like there was no flexibility in his feet. He couldn't accelerate. He couldn't spring up for a line drive. He couldn't cut a base. He seemed winded by his third or fourth step. This was despite him being in good condition (injuries aside) for the something close to the entirety of his tenure with the Mets.
But fortunately, there's more than footspeed. He had terrific hands on offense and defense, a smile that made you forget the clouds in the sky (and that raised mole you're concerned about), and a flair for the late-inning drama. He leaves the Mets as possibly the all-time leader in games played at all four infield positions, and probably pretty high up on the hits and homerun rankings, though I can't confirm that because all sports sites are now blocked at work. The guy was fun.
It seems pretty clear that he has a season in front of him where he hits .325, leads his team into the post-season, does something cool there that gets him all sexy bloodied up, saves a puppy, and marries that gymnast from UCLA everybody is talking about.
Maybe not, but how can you wish him anything but the best?
Everybody say goodbye to Wilmer.
