It was maybe the weirdest trade deadline scene ever. Wilmer Flores, a guy who all the folks who follow such things on social media had learned was being traded to Milwaukee, was allowed to remain in the Mets-Padres game. Allowed to remain in after he, himself, learned of the pending trade. And allowed to cry in front of God and Ron Darling and everyone:
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No matter what hacks who quote “A League of Their Own” say, there’s no shame in crying in baseball. Especially when you think you’re about to be traded from the only organization you’ve ever known. The organization which has been your home since you were 16, as was the case with Flores. Marc Carig of Newsday has a rundown on what really happened there. Medicals and things that tend to derail trades.
But I really am curious why Flores was in the game. It was a 7-2 game in the eighth inning, so if the trade was all but done, why not take Flores out? And if the trade was not done -- as it clearly was not -- how did the information get out so widely that thousands of fans at Citi Field were hearing about it? Obviously there are leaks in baseball -- we hear about everything before it’s officially announced -- but if you’re inside an organization it seems like you’d try to keep that stuff locked down at least until you’re pretty sure the deal is happening. I dunno, though. I suppose that’s naive. A baseball trade isn’t national security.
Still, once you get to the “everybody’s talkin’ about it” stage, you wonder why the player involved, Flores, wasn’t taken out of the game out of an abundance of caution. Caution regarding injuries at least. But also to avoid awkward situations like the one he was put in last night. Even if the situation was, to unrelated outsiders like us, rather touching.
Oh well. We have another night of this tonight. Buckle up.
