In the Mets finale this afternoon Jose Reyes (battling Ryan Braun for a batting title) took himself out of the game after leading off with a bunt single.
From espn.com:
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Reyes, in the lead for the National League batting crown, delivered a bunt single to lead off the bottom of the first inning of the Mets' 3-0 win over the Reds. He then was pulled as New York Mets manager Terry Collins adhered to the shortstop's request to be removed if he singled.
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I immediately thought of what The Splendid Splinter did when he was pursuing .400 so many years ago. So did espn:
Quote:
The decision to pull Reyes comes on the 70th anniversary of Ted Williams deciding to play in a doubleheader on the final day of the regular season in 1941 even though his .39955 average would have been rounded up to .400.
"If I'm going to be a .400 hitter, I'm going to be a .400 hitter all the way," Williams was quoted as saying at the time.
Williams went 6-for-8 in the twin bill to up his average to .406.
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I know there are two sides to this, but I find it completely lame when a big leaguer pulls crap like this. Play the damn game. I really hope Braun kills it tonight and wins the crown anyway. Not much chance that Reyes picks up the nickname "Jose Ballgame" any time soon...