Reyes grew up in the tiny mountain town of Palmar Arriba in the Dominican Republic, a poor mountainous region where bicycles and burros rule the road.

He learned to play shortstop barehanded. He graduated to a milk carton for a glove, but the infields never got any less rocky. “Baseballs” were always rotten oranges. The games were all-day affairs. It was a way of life.

Nine years later, it’s a damn fine way to make a living for Reyes, the New York Mets’ 19-year-old minor league prodigy who was called up to the big leagues today.

Shea Stadium will be the final stop on the career express train that whisked Reyes, 2002’s MLN Player of the Year, through the minors.

With the Class AAA Norfolk Tides this season, Reyes was hitting .274 with no home runs, four triples, 13 RBI and an International League-leading 26 stolen bases in 31 attempts. He was also sporting the best infield arm and glove in the Mets’ farm system since Rey Ordonez. He has just five errors.

Though Reyes may not have the power to be considered a true five-tool player at this point, his defense, quick bat and foot speed are truly special, traits that Eddy Toledo saw when he got his first glimpse of Reyes in 1999.

Toledo, an area scout for the Mets in the Dominican Republic, started to hear rumors about a 140-pounder in the mountains who had just turned 16 but played like a man. It didn’t take long for Toledo to agree with all the raves about Reyes.

“He came up to me after the first game he saw me and said, ‘You can play,’” Reyes said.

Though Toledo was sold on Reyes, getting the Mets’ brass to make a commitment on the skinny kid was another thing, especially sight unseen.

It wasn’t until the Chicago Cubs made a serious run at signing Reyes that Toledo got then-Mets director of international operations Omar Minaya, now the Montreal Expos general manager, to convince New York that a $20,000 signing bonus wasn’t such a big deal.

That $20,000 changed the world of the Reyes’ family. In a nation like the Dominican Republic the average annual income is around $2,000.

His father, Jose, owns a small bodega in Palmar Arriba that sells general goods. When Reyes wasn’t playing baseball, he and his younger sister, Meosote, helped their mother and father run the store.

Reyes has no problems suggesting he was the best young player on his island nation during his formative years. It’s not cocky. The strength of family and his focus on baseball kept him away from the powerful lure of drugs that consumed friends who were almost as good at the game as he was.

“I know people I played with that did drugs and it did bad things to them,” Reyes said. “I never did drugs. I didn’t want it to mess up everything for me. I knew I was a good player, so I didn’t want anything getting in my way.”

“There aren’t many more players that are Jose’s age and are as humble as Jose is, and that have his kind of ability,” Norfolk manager Bobby Floyd said. “He’s got a long way to go, and he knows that, but he’s making so much progress. The only thing he needs is more time because he knows how to handle himself otherwise.”

Time is no longer a luxury that Reyes possesses. The Mets skim the bottom of their division, and need a jump-start. The dawn of the 21st century may be dubbed the “character counts” years. After players like Strawberry and Doc Gooden, whose careers became embroiled in substance problems, the Mets want someone with a strong work-ethic who can perform, with headlines for achievements on the field.

“We had no concern about any baggage with Jose,” said Jim Duquette, the Mets’ senior assistant general manager and director of player personnel. “He was from a very solid family background.”

Reyes seems to be as well adjusted as any teenager could be in his circumstances. The smile is omnipresent, a toothy grin that is almost part of his uniform.

“He’s a very poised, confident young man,” said Norfolk general manager Dave Rosenfield, who has operated a professional baseball team for the last 48 years. He calls Reyes one of top five most talented shortstops he has ever witnessed on one of his teams.

“He just seems to have an innate knowledge of the game, and picks new aspects up very well. With the speed he has, he gives himself an incredible advantage. If he continues to improve at this rate, he should be a very productive major league player.”

By the end of last season the Mets’ shortstop Rey Ordonez’ batting average was hovering around .250. In town where .50 in batting average means the difference between showered praise and a battery shower from booing fans, .250 is a one-way ticket out of Dodge on a rail.

Reyes burned up the farm system. He started his pro career in 2000 at rookie league Kingsport, where he hit .250 with eight RBI and 30 stolen bases in 49 games.

In 2001, Reyes hit .307 with five home runs, 48 RBI and 30 stolen bases at Class A Capital City.

Last year, he split time between Class A St. Lucie and Class AA Binghamton, hitting .288 with eight home runs, 19 triples, 62 RBI, 104 runs, 58 stolen bases and 29 errors.

All along, Reyes displayed outstanding comprehension of the strike zone, going down on strikes in less than 14 percent of his at-bats.

Work Ethic Is The Driving Force.

It is his work ethic, as much as the numbers that keep Jose on the fast track. Reyes lives in a world surrounded by baseball. He’s generally the first one in the cage during batting practice to work with Norfolk hitting coach Al LeBoeuf on bunting technique or gaining a comfort zone in the batter’s box. Reyes is usually the last to leave.

Jose returned home to the Dominican over the winter, but never stopped working. He got his first taste of competition against players with major league experience last year playing winter ball for Los Pollos. He plans on playing Dominican winter ball again following this season.

There aren’t many diversions in Reyes’ life right now. The boy from the village of the bicycle and burro still doesn’t own a car, and doesn’t even have a dream car. His career is fulfilling dreams for himself and his family faster than he may be able to take it all in. For now it is all about baseball. When the perquisites of fame come, there may be time for more.

Fans in New York like their shortstops to be able to flash a little leather and carry a reliable stick. Reyes does those things, and also provides more speed than any shortstop in the history of the Mets’ franchise.

Last season, Mets fans started to call-in local sports talk radio shows, talking up the possibility of giving Reyes a shot at the big league job. Reyes hadn’t played above Class AA at that point, but it was easy to understand all the hype.

It’s difficult to be patient with a player that has those kinds of skills at a team’s disposal, particularly for a team that’s been performing as badly as the Mets.

“It was hard to put the brakes on the recognition for Jose because his ability stands out on the field,” Duquette said. “We still have to remember he is not the savior for our major league team. The hype has not changed him at all and I am amazed at how well he has handled himself with all of the attention.”

Savior or not, he is the kind of player who can make a difference. Leaving a trail of cracked milk cartons, broken broomstick bats and splattered oranges behind him, Reyes is on his way to baseball’s premier stage. If he can maintain the poise and power that he has shown in the minors, this 19-year-old phenom won’t be back any time soon.

Reyes was MLN's 2002 Player of the Year. For that article, click here.