Met is Cuddye-for
In this season, when the New York Mets seem blessed by the baseball gods, the player who has become their spiritual clubhouse leader is Michael Cuddyer. Make no mistake, Cuddyer’s good buddy David Wright, who grew up in the same Virginia town, is still the captain of the New York Mets on and off the field.
But the guy who stepped into the morale booster role when Wright was injured and off in rehab was Cuddyer.
The veteran outfielder has been injured himself of late, suffering from tendinitis. But after every Mets game, Cuddyer sets the clubhouse mood.
Even manager Terry Collins sometimes joins in.
“When we win, like that amazing game last week where we came from way behind the Nationals to win, I assemble all the guys right after the game,” Cuddyer said. “Then I give out the award for the player of the game.”
He says the award is not always the guy with the most hits, or RBI.
“Usually it’s for the guy who turned the tide of the game or who really made a difference," Cuddyer said. “I used to do it with game balls, like back in Little League. But then Kevin Plawecki picked up a championship wrestling belt somewhere that I give out now after each game. If you win it more than once you put notches under your name.”
Who got the belt after handing the Nats that crushing defeat in Game 2 of their recent series?
“Kirk Nieuwenhuis,” said Cuddyer. “He pinch-hit that huge homer. It’s important for us to have these moments together as a team. A time to do something not for stats, or arbitration or money. These little award sessions are a time when jaded pros and rookies still cheer for each other and do something together for the pure love of the game of baseball like when we were kids.”
When the Mets lose a game, Cuddyer is also the guy who assembles the team to boost spirits. “Losing is part of the game,” he said. “But I remind the guys, especially the young players, that tomorrow we have nine new innings to play better baseball, but that we can’t win tomorrow if we bring tonight’s loss to the field.”
Cuddyer said when he was a kid, he learned a lot of card tricks and amateur magic illusions.
“I do those tricks in the clubhouse,” Cuddyer said. “It’s a great way to break the ice with new guys. When a team of guys play together for 162 games across 200 hot summer days, sometimes you can get on each other’s nerves. You get tired. Grouchy. If you’re losing as we did in a few rough patches, you need to lighten the mood. I am forever reminding guys that it’s a privilege for us to be playing this beautiful kids’ game as grownups. And to get paid for it. So let’s all have us some fun while it lasts.”
Although he’s clearly guided by an inner child, Cuddyer learned an adult lesson from the great Harmon Killebrew at a signing event in Minnesota. “I was autographing stuff for fans with a signature that looked like an EKG,” says Cuddyer. “Harmon kept glaring at me. Unhappy. Finally he said that if I didn't start signing my name legibly, he was gonna leave. He said I was being unprofessional and unfair to the fans that pay our salaries. I grew up a little that day. Ever since, I take my time and sign my name so the fan can read it. I pass that lesson on to every new young player I meet.” Off the field, Cuddyer also does charity work for, surprise, kids. “Listen, I have three kids of my own and I couldn’t imagine them growing up without ever receiving a gift,” he says. “So my wife and I got involved in Gifts of Life, a charity that puts together $10 gift bags for underprivileged kids around the world, kids who have never gotten a single birthday gift. We make sure they get a birthday gift. Just a little bag of books, pencils, pads, toys. Something to make them feel special. Knowing that somewhere, someone cares about them might light up and change a kid’s life.”
The way Michael Cuddyer has lit up the lives of his fellow boys of summer wearing orange and blue over in that green pasture in Flushing this Amazin’ season.
“Boy oh boy, are we having us some fun,” he says.