Jose Reyes deserves consideration for MLB's Hall of Fame

Jose Reyes is a surefire Mets Hall of Famer and will find his way into the organization's list of prestigious retired numbers hanging at Citi Field, but many are questioning his status as a potential candidate for Cooperstown. 

Reyes and MLB Hall of Famer may sound outrageous at the first sound of it, but when you dig deeper into the numbers and the legacy he left with the Mets and baseball as a whole, the speedy shortstop should at least be a talking point when his name appears on the ballot. 

In 16 MLB seasons, Reyes amassed 1,180 runs, 131 triples, 2,138 hits, 517 stolen bases and 3,222 total bases. Upon closer examination, that puts Reyes way up the list in all-time rankings at No. 199 in runs scored, No. 79 in triples, No. 212 in hits, No. 33 in stolen bases and No. 236 in total bases. 

Anytime your in the company of Ken Griffey Jr., Yogi Berra, Mike Piazza, Don Baylor and many other players already enshrined in Cooperstown across several hitting and baserunning categories, that player should receive a second look by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. 

Reyes was recognized with the Larry Doby Award (2002), USA Today Minor League Player of the Year Award  (2002), Lou Brock Award (N.L. Stolen Base Champion 2005, 2006, 2007), NL Silver Slugger Award (2006), Silber Bat Award (2011), and Charlie Hough Good Guy Award (2012). 

The four-time All-Star (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011), did neccearily build on and keep the early momentum he built during his first 5-7 years with the ballclub as injuries started to hamper the blazing baserunner's ability to race around the basepaths with ease. 

Additionally, with MLB moving away from "small ball" tactics like bunting and analytics steering clubs away from risking stolen bases, the game has changed drastically over the last decade. 

While injuries, age were contributing factors to Reyes' dropoff, a shift in league-wide philosophy made players of Reyes' rare base stealing ability of less and less value as he moved into the second half of his career. Nonetheless, Reyes was, and always will be, a fan favorite in Flushing. 

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Current projections have Reyes' chances of reaching baseball immortality at just under 24 percent, which doesn't bode well for the Dominican-born star. Only time will tell how Reyes will be viewed by the BWAA, but let's face it, that group has botched the voting process with several other deserving candidates in the past. 

Reyes, along with his close friend David Wright, was the posterchild for the early to mid-2000 Mets teams that couldn't manage to climb over the hump to reach or win a World Series, but had some electrifying runs. With his decorated baseball resume and uncanny ability to wreak havoc on the basepaths--in a league that has slowly phased that aspect out of the sport--Reyes should be in the Hall of Fame conversation when his name will appear on the ballot in 2025.