There have been a lot of “moments” in this season, which is just shy of being halfway over. The Mets have gone on horrible losing periods, and fantastic winning streaks and then alternating them to cause Mets fans to go nuts. There have been severe disappointments (hello Oliver Perez and John Maine) and we have had Amazin' performances (Dickey, Pagan, Tejada, Davis). In a year that has seen to winning streaks of 8 games, 6 consecutive home series wins, a 20 inning game, and a goose egg sweep, my favorite moment was not televised, reported, or talked about it.
It occured before the game in Washington (the one that Maine was pulled from and the Mets won 10-7). I had never seen batting practice like I did that night. At the beginning you had the big names like Reyes and Wright out there, but after they went down into the tunnel, it was time for Chirs Carter and Ike Davis.
All They Did Was Hit Bombs.
Seriously they put on a clinic during that batting practice on how to swing for power. Every swing looked great, and just about every ball left the ball park. In typical Davis fashion, they left the ball park. After being mesmerized for this for a few minutes, wishing I had a videotape recorder (seriously I must be the only 21-year old to not automatically think about grabbing a phone to take pictures of this or something) I looked around to see if anyone else was watching this display of skill, talent and strength, and no one really was. It was a moment though where you can see the immense ability these players, especially Davis have, and makes you appreciate that they are on your team.
I recently thought about this moment becuase of a quote from Jeff Francoeur that was posted on Metsblog after Sunday's game:
-Jeff Francoeur
Ok time to redeem myself for not exactly being the most tech-savvy person on Earth. For those of you who are not in the loop with poplular culture stupid in this sense means basically the opposite of what it used to. It basically means amazing or crazy (more of the latter). Basically its an amplifier, meaning greater in a positive sense. I'm not exactly sure where this started, but if I had to put a finger on it, I would say the Hyphy movement in the Bay Area. Hyphy here meaning Hyperactive or a subculture of hip-hop that literally likes to act hyperactive. This is the same movement that brought us Ghost-Riding the Whip (putting your vehicle in drive, getting out and dancing on it), Stuntin Shades, E-40 (rapper) and Mistah F.A.B. (rapper). Some songs you might want to check out for information include Tell Me When To Go – E-40, Ghost Ride It and Stupid Dumb and Hyphy both by Mistah F.A.B.
Anyway back on track. Francoeur really puts it right. Davis has pop. His homers remind of shades of Cliff Floyd who never seemed to hit a small homer, they all were monsters (I can still hear in my mind “Cliff Floyd Off The Scoreboard!”) and thats where Davis stands. If he plays long enough with the Mets, Shea Bridge might become David Bridge or the Pepsi Porch will probably become Davis Porch. Its as if the Mets play in the House that Ike Built.
Next time you find yourself at a Mets batting practice, watch Davis and Carter, and hope that you get to watch the show that I got to see, because it's just like the Home Run Derby, all it needs is Chris Berman (actually, can we get Berman to just call Batting Practice, that would probably be entertaining).
