When he was told that his hot-hitting infielder T. J. Rivera was being called up by the Mets, Wally Backman, the manager of the Las Vegas 51s, played a little trick on him. The 51s, the Mets’ Class AAA team, were between games during a Tuesday doubleheader in Albuquerque, N.M., when Backman called Rivera into his office and told him he was resting him for the second game.
“And then he kind of snuck it up on me that I was flying out,” Rivera said.
It was exciting news for the 27-year-old Rivera. “But I was more excited for my family and then the experience they’re going to get to have,” Rivera said.