I’m Still Crying, Wilmer Flores

posted by u/fmcrimson · 2026-11-03 04:52 UTC

My best memory of the Mets’ greatest season of my lifetime happened during an uncompetitive home loss to the San Diego Padres. At that point, the Mets had barely won more games than they’d lost, and the playoffs were a long way off. My dad, brother, and I watched out of habit rather than expectation.

Down 7-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Mets’ shortstop Wilmer Flores comes up to bat. The crowd rises to applaud him. Watching from the couch, I’m not surprised. Two innings earlier, Mets TV announcer Gary Cohen announced reports circulating on social media: Flores had been traded.

At the plate, Flores raises his eyes from the ground. He turns his head toward the outfield, then stares into the stands on the third-base side. I can tell from his face, round and expressive like a baby’s, that he has no idea why he’s being cheered. “Man, you gotta feel for him. They usually take the guy out,” my dad says. Cohen concurs: “It’s a little odd that Wilmer is still in the game.”

Flores takes a long at-bat, but grounds out for the second out of the inning. As he walks back to the dugout, the crowd gives him another ovation, louder than the first. Minutes later, the camera cuts into the dugout, where Flores talks briefly with another player before disappearing into the clubhouse. He’s clearly been informed of the trade. “Man, wouldn’t you hate to be a baseball player?” my dad asks. I nod.

But after the commercial break, Flores is, inexplicably, back on the field for the top of the eighth. The camera zooms in on his baby face, flushed red. There are circles around his eyes; he wipes them with his right hand. At one moment, he chews his glove leather. Flores is crying, and by now, I am too.

...Read the full personal essay from The Harvard Crimson's magazine.

Original link: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/10/23/wilmer-flores-crying-in-baseball-introspection/

## Top comments

1. u/AutoModerator · 2026-11-03 04:52 UTC

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2. u/Bustyposers · 2026-11-03 15:15 UTC

Lost me at "Wouldn't you hate to be a baseball player?" Because he can be traded? Wtf. This must be written by someone who has never had to work in their life.

3. u/Wonderful_Ad_889 · 2026-11-03 10:33 UTC

Lmao