April 24, 2007

Reyes Triple Happy

Marty Noble at Mets.com, writes about Jose Reyes and how he's geting off to one of the best starts in MLB history in triples:


Two, four, six, eight, we can all extrapolate, though it is a dangerous exercise early in the season. One intriguing but foolish mathematical look forward involves Jose Reyes, the game's foremost triple threat. Reyes has five triples in the team's first 17 games. Extrapolating those figures in a 162-game season yields 47.65 triples. Not likely; the .65 triples may be more easily achieved than the 47.

But Reyes is off to a flying start -- almost literally. He had no triples in his first 37 games in the 2005 season, when he led the league for the first of two straight seasons -- 17 each year. Of course, he then tripled seven times in 10 games. His triples were more spread out last season.

If Reyes were to triple 17 more times this season, he wouldn't only equal Wilson's total, he also would exceed the club's single-season record, 21, set by Lance Johnson in 1996, and produce more triples than any player since 1949, when Indians outfielder Dale Mitchell produced 23 in spacious Municipal Stadium.

Photo of Reyes Copyright Michael Rubin, 2007.

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