Franmil hits homer No. 30 at family's request

NEW YORK -- Franmil Reyes’ family had one request: “I want you to hit [No.] 30 here in front of us.”

Reyes gave his wife 15 tickets, one uncle had five tickets and another uncle had four on Saturday afternoon to witness what would be an 11-3 Indians victory over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. But the biggest win for the Reyes family was that the slugger obeyed his loved ones’ request.

The pressure was on for Reyes, who knew in the back of his mind that his numbers have never been great against the Yankees, especially in the Bronx. Entering Saturday, he had posted a .204 average against them in his career with a .587 OPS. And at Yankee Stadium, he owned a .147 average and a .318 OPS.

“Every time we played the Yankees or the Mets, I haven’t done anything,” Reyes said, with his signature belly laugh. “So I just gave them what they asked for. It was very special.”

The Indians had already taken an 8-0 lead by plating seven runs in the fifth for the team’s biggest offensive inning of the season. Reyes followed that with a two-run blast that clocked in at 110.8 mph off the bat, according to Statcast -- his 30th long ball of the season.

“That was very special to get to 30 and 80 RBIs in front of them, because all of them want it,” Reyes said of his family, many of whom live in New York. “They said, ‘Hey, I want you to hit the 30 here in front of us.’ That was special.”

The only race the Indians are in the throes of down the stretch is against themselves, attempting to avoid their first losing season of the Terry Francona era, which began in 2013. But watching Reyes’ emotion after his long ball, it was as if he sent his team to the playoffs with his two-run shot. He rounded third, and instead of invoking his traditional bazooka celebration, he was more animated, yelling during the majority of his trip around the bases before pointing his finger high above his head toward his family in the stands.

This type of reaction isn’t unusual to see from the slugger. The team’s coaching staff has praised both Reyes’ passion and hustle countless times this season, and watching him hype himself up -- and the rest of his team -- in a blowout game in the middle of September with their 2021 postseason hopes all but eliminated is exactly why the club views him as a leader and an essential piece in the lineup moving forward.

“It keeps it live,” Indians acting manager DeMarlo Hale said, “but I think from a coach’s perspective, guys stay a little loose. Sometimes he and José [Ramírez] go back and forth. It’s comical, in a way. But I think other guys around them see how they’re loose, but yet when it comes time for them to focus, there’s a focus. You don’t forget you play the game you love with some passion and some fun, and I like that about this team.”

Sure, his energy is nearly irreplaceable, but Reyes’ bat certainly doesn’t hurt his impact on the team, either. Reyes joined Ramírez as the only two Indians hitters with at least 30 homers this season. Now, the Indians have had at least two players reach that mark in each of the past five full seasons (excluding the 60-game season in 2020).

“They’re hitting in the middle of the lineup for that reason, because [with] one swing of the bat, they can definitely change a game,” Hale said.

It makes sense that Reyes was excited to reach that milestone -- one that he sets as a goal prior to every season -- in front of his family, and maybe most would assume that’s the only reason he was so fired up going around the bases. But that wouldn’t have played a part in his celebratory drum solo on the dugout railing when Andrés Giménez launched his third homer of the season -- and first since April 17 -- the frame before. He brings the energy no matter what.

“He makes you feel like you’re really enjoying the game,” Giménez said. “I think he keeps us up in the dugout, and that’s good for the team. … His personality makes us be relaxed in situations. He’s just Franmil.”

As much as the Indians will be carried by his bat over the next few years, it’s clear they will also be carried by his leadership.

“That’s my office,” Reyes said. “That’s my family. I have to take care of it. Like I always say, I don’t know how to do anything else. This is my life. So I have to give my heart to it.”