“The LTJ Editorial” - “We Like Ike! Is his biggest team impact this year?”

“The LTJ Editorial”
Author: Luis Tirado Jr.
Date: 3-7-13
E-Mail: NYLuis7@gmail.com  
Twitter/Instagram: @Slayerdemise

“We Like Ike! Is his biggest team impact this year?”

I’m not the biggest NY Yankees Fan in the world, but I respect them. I grew up with them in fact, in the early 90’s when they were winning championships left and right, I remember how everyone wore that Yankees hat everywhere. I still wore my NY Mets cap proudly, even thought I never understood why there was so much hate between the Mets/Yanks when they only face each other 6 times a year. But I’ll leave that for another editorial one of these days. One of the men I always respected, even to this day, was their Manager during that reign, Joe Torre. It’s his demeanor, the authority, and most of all, the respect he creates in every room he enters. I can honestly admit he reminds me of the impact Vince Lombardi left to the world of professional football. Whenever I think of one of the best managers to ever be in professional baseball, Torre is always in the mix.

As we all know, the World Baseball Classic is a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially if you get the call to represent this beautiful country of ours in it. While at the time of writing this, Ike Davis didn’t get the invite, but Joe Torre mentioned he wouldn’t mind having him at first base and was in the conversations of who to replace Teixeira. That speaks volumes and even Davis himself said he was honored he was mentioned in the lineup of players like Konerko, Howard, and others. Ultimately, it went to Eric Hosmer from the Kansas City Royals. To have all that happen the past few days, it shows the kind of respect a player like Ike Davis is gathering across the league.

Back in 2010, I’ll never forget when Ike Davis first made his professional debut with the Mets. I was actually at that game in Citi Field and in his first outing, I had a gut feeling he would be someone special, and that year, he sure as hell was! He hit 73 RBI’s, .351 OBP, and knocked 19 homeruns out of the park. I was super excited about him, especially since he was held down due to the prior management regime. The following season, unfortunately, he was injured and missed a big chunk of it. I was nervous he wouldn’t be the same player he was back in ‘10. Boy, was I wrong.

He worked extra hard in rehab. He kept in shape by working out harder than ever before. He kept hitting those batting cages. What were the results? Ike Davis had a exceptionally good season in 2012, he hit 90 RBI’s, .308 OBP, and set a career-high record for HR’s at 32! He played better defense on top of getting more experience at first base. He didn’t seem like he was coming off an injured season at all, which was very impressive. What will 2013 bring for Ike Davis? If last year was any indication, an even more productive season. I predict over 40 HR’s, triple digit RBI’s, and hopefully, more victories to propel the NY Mets to gain something we’ve been slowly working on achieving more of…….. Respect.