Matt Joyce is having a career season so far this year. He has come a long way since joining the Tampa Bay Rays back in 2008. The Rays acquired Joyce in a trade for a very popular player, Edwin Jackson. The trade angered a lot of fans due to the upside that Jackson showed with his incredible arm, and he fit very well in an already dominant starting rotation. Furthermore, Joyce injured himself shortly after joining the team, so this did not sit well with the fans or the players. Joyce explained,
You don't want to be labeled as “that guy”. Before I came to the Rays, I was never hurt. So it was a whole new world, a different aspect for me that was really hard to accept -- that you were hurt and you couldn't do anything about it, because you feel like everybody is looking at you like, Who is this guy? We traded one of our best pitchers for this guy and he's hurt all the time. And he hasn't done anything.
When Matt Joyce returned from injury, he was put in the starting lineup against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Guess who happened to be pitching for them? You guessed it, former Rays pitcher, Edwin Jackson. This was a chance for Joyce to prove to everyone that the trade was not a bust. However, Jackson would have the ultimate last laugh. Jackson threw a no-hitter against his former team! This became a very low point for Joyce who was still trying to prove himself to his teammates. Joyce admits,
That was terrible. That was an awful experience. To be your first game back, and when I saw that Edwin was pitching, I couldn't believe it. It was almost like they planned it that way where I faced Edwin on the first day.
However, this year has been a complete turnaround for Joyce. He led the American League in batting average for 21 days, and led the Majors for 15 days. He is not currently in the lead right now, but he is still hitting a very respectable .338 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI’s. Not to mention that he has one of the best arms of any outfielder this year which always poses a threat for any runner trying to reach an extra base on any ball hit towards his direction. He is one of the Rays key players this year, and he hopes to help lead his team to another A.L. East title.
I listen to a little bit of sports radio from time to time and up until this year Matt was getting that rap as "that guy" especially after the Edwin Jackson no-hitter. With such comments as "we traded E-Jack who?" and "what a terrible trade look that bum is still in the minors" I could see why he wanted to prove himself especially being this is his hometown. Fortunately this year he has hushed up all those comments he was getting.
ReplyDeleteHe is having an incredible year so far. He looks more focused than ever in the box, and he looks a lot more comfortable than he ever has out in the field. I don't mean to jump the gun a little bit, but he is showing all of the signs og becoming a great player for years to come.
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