Jose Reyes is one of the greatest players ever to come from the Dominican Republic. Amed Rosario hopes to be the next standout from that nation.
But neither could ever mean as much to their country as the man beside them in the dugout Wednesday night.
Ozzie Virgil Sr., the first Dominican-born player to appear in the major leagues, was the Mets’ honorary coach, and took out the lineup card before their 3-0 win over the Braves.
The 86-year-old, who has worked in the Mets’ organization for the past 11 years as an instructor for their Dominican summer league teams, made his major league debut with the New York Giants on Sept. 23, 1956 and played parts of nine seasons with five teams.
Virgil moved to the U.S. at the age of 13, and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High in The Bronx before serving in the U.S. Marines. Virgil, who was signed in 1952 (and given a $300 bonus), recalled traveling in the Jim Crow South, where he was prohibited from staying in hotels and eating at restaurants.
Virgil, who has an airport in his home country named for him, noted how much has changed since he played alongside Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. Nearly as remarkable is what hasn’t.
“The game is the same,” Virgil said. “It’s the same game that we all love. … The best sound that I have that keeps me alive is the bat hitting the ball.”
Mickey Callaway continues to rave about Rosario’s improvement since becoming the team’s primary leadoff hitter in July.
Rosario, who went 1-for-4 Wednesday, has 70 post-All-Star break hits and 30 September hits, putting him among the NL leaders.
But the 22-year-old — who also was in the top 10 in the NL with 22 stolen bases — shouldn’t get too comfortable in the spot in which he has looked most at home.
“I think leading [Rosario] off has done wonders for him as a baseball player and as a hitter,” Callaway said. “[But] it’s not necessarily gonna be the case next year. We’re gonna have to see what our personnel is. Ideally you’d probably be leading off [Brandon] Nimmo and hitting [Rosario] seventh or eighth.”
Dominic Smith went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and hit his fifth home run of the season. … Nimmo drew two walks, improving his on-base percentage to .401. No Mets player has had an on-base percentage higher than .400 since David Wright in 2007 (.416).
Jason Vargas (6-9, 6.25 ERA) has one more chance when he starts Thursday night to make fans feel better about the two-year deal he signed this offseason. After going 2-8 with an 8.75 ERA in his first 12 starts of the season, Vargas has gone 4-1 with a 3.11 ERA over his past seven starts. … Atlanta starter Julio Teheran (9-8, 4.03 ERA) has posted a 1.69 ERA in four starts against the Mets this season.
