Wilmer Flores caps emotional week with walk-off homer against Nationals
You couldn’t write a more dramatic script if you spent years trying.
Two days after Wilmer Flores fought back tears on the field, thinking he was about to be traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in a blockbuster Carlos Gomez trade, the New York Mets shortstop brought Citi Field to its feet with a 12th-inning walk-off home run against the Washington Nationals.
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Talk about a roller coaster of emotions.
Flores, who’s been with the Mets since signing as a 16-year-old in 2007, was understandably upset when word of the looming Gomez trade trickled to the field on Wednesday night. He’s grown up with the team. He’s made a home in New York. It’s all he knows as a professional baseball player. And though the fans weren’t always sold on his development as a player, they were definitely in his corner when he wore his heart on his sleeve for all to see.
It was simply among the most heart-wrenching things we’ve seen play out on the field. Knowing how he was feeling, and knowing his future was likely to change at any moment. We almost wondered why he was being put through that stress so openly, but as we later learned, the trade itself was never meant to be completed.
Flores remained a Met on Wednesday night. He remained a Met through Friday’s non-waiver trade deadline. And it’s a darn good thing he did, because that allowed him to cap an emotional week on the highest of highs in the world of baseball.
Indeed, there is crying and there are happy endings in baseball, and everybody felt the joy right along with him.
Credit to the Mets radio booth on WOR 710 AM. Moments before Flores’ blast, they absolutely called it.
Well played. That will definitely make a headline or two.
Flores’ game-winner came off Nationals reliever Felipe Rivero. In the big picture, it got them back on track after losing two straight to the struggling San Diego Padres. That included a real gut punch on Thursday provided by Justin Upton.
With the win, the Mets move to within two games of Washington in the NL East standings, and there’s still games left to go this weekend. Needless to say, it’s getting exciting in New York, and with Yoenis Cespedes also coming into the fold, it may only get better.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
