Looking back one year after Wilmer Flores' 'Crying Game'
It was awkward, and touching, and a lot of different things at once.
For those who watched Wilmer Flores find out, essentially in real-time, that the Mets had traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers for Carlos Gomez, the whole thing was surreal and emotional.
The tears...the ovations...that part at the end where the Mets did not trade this man at all...Flores' non-trade game was incredible and strange even by MLB standards.
Now, a year later, we look back at a night that changed everything about a young player but his address.
Finding out
The deal for Flores was first reported online, and it was went thusly:
#Mets gave up Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores for Gomez #Brewers
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 30, 2015
That's it: few details, just straight, off-the-wire brevity. Many read it as gospel, though following reports began to paint the picture as a deal in process as opposed to done-and-done:
Mets fans gave Flores an ovation, and it seemed like that would be it for the then-23-year-old Venezuelan infielder.
But...not so fast.
In spite of initial reports, the trade was far from a done deal, and when Gomez's medical records allegedly didn't pass muster, the Mets pulled out the deal and Flores remained tear-stained but very much still on the team.
"During the game I heard that I was getting traded," Flores said. "You know, I got emotional. But then they came in and told, I wasn't traded."
Two days later, after receiving four standing ovations, Flores smacked a walk-off home run in extra innings against the Washington Nationals for a 2-1 Mets win.
Flores' home run blew Terry Collins' mind as much as anyone's, considering the young player had spent the last 48 hours since the trade scare sweating out the purgatory of the no-waiver trade deadline.
"He had to wonder if that was his last day in the clubhouse," Collins said.
"The Mets fans were definitely rallying around Wilmer and our team throughout the game," Harvey added.
From there, Flores and the Mets charged all the way to the World Series, where they received a thumping from Kansas City and lost in five games.
Disappointing? Yes. The end of the road? No.
For the Mets' would-be trade fodder, it's proving to be just the beginning.
Getting reps
In 2016, Flores is finally starting to gain confidence through routine.
The issue had been finding a place for him, and with David Wright opted for neck surgery in June to repair a nagging herniated disk, Flores has been able to slide in at third base and begin taking regular cuts.
The result has been promising: Flores has 10 home runs, 27 RBIs and a .464 slugging average in 67 games, and had is confirming his belief that he'd play better with consistent starts.
"Knowing that you could be in the lineup everyday, it changes everything," Flores said after Wright opted for surgery. "Since I got here, I've been waiting for an opportunity, and it's an opening."
Flores will continue to pursue that opening, and baseball fans haven't failed to notice the player who was nearly traded turning into a pivotal player for the franchise down the stretch this season.
The Brooklyn Cyclones are going as far as hosting a Wilmer Flores Bobblehead Night on Saturday, where fans will receive a reversible bobblehead illustrating the Mets third baseman's journey "From Tears to Cheers."
That is a solid bobblehead offer, from a guy who probably shouldn't be here, thanks to the weird, minute-to-minute ways of the MLB trade deadline.
Coming to MCU Park this summer the "From Tears to Cheers" Wilmer Flores Bobblehead. https://t.co/4e20rE5a1h pic.twitter.com/1tvJWRG0U9
— Brooklyn Cyclones (@BKCyclones) April 4, 2016
Dan is on Twitter. Sometimes you just need to let it out.
