Mets legend Jose Reyes makes hilarious admission on game after MLB rule change

Former All-Star infielder and New York Mets great Jose Reyes made a hilarious claim during the National League East team's game against division rivals the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.

Reyes, watching the game from the stands, was asked how many bases he would steal with the modern MLB rules that were introduced after the 2022 season by SNY's Steve Gelbs.

The three-time National League stolen base reader, without any hesitation, said he'd steal 150 bases with the new rules.

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The former infielder made his MLB debut in 2003 with the Mets and played for the team for more than a decade over two stints. While he also played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, and Colorado Rockies, his best years were in New York.

The four-time All-Star was renowned for his dynamic base-running abilities, and he had the defense on their toes whenever he was on base. He stole 60 bases in 2005 with 64 in the following season and a career-best 78 in 2007 to lead the NL stolen base chart for three consecutive seasons.

What is the new stolen base rule by MLB?

The rule change Jose Reyes referred to in his brief interview came into effect from the 2023 season. MLB increased the base sizes to 18 square inches, compared to 15 in previous years.

While the increased help the base runners by providing them a bigger target and shortening the distance between bases, the stolen base attempts increased with the introduction of a pitch clock.

With the pitchers allowed just two pick-off attempts since the 2023 season, the base runners have seemingly gotten the license to test their agility between the bases.

The rules were introduced by the league to revive base running as players seemingly inclined towards power hitting at the plate over the last decade. It would have been interesting to see Jose Reyes play with the modified rules.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash