Last year he was arrested for choking his wife and slamming her into a glass door. Tuesday night he was greeted like a returning hero. Such was the experience of New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, appearing in his first game back from a 52-game suspension for brutally assaulting his wife.
It’s a roar akin to Maximus entering the Coliseum in Gladiator. And in case you want to give the fans the benefit of the doubt, here are some of the signs in the stands.
.@lamelaza_7 is BACK in Queens.
😄 🍎 pic.twitter.com/Wn1W22Z6Tx
— MLB (@MLB) July 5, 2016
Mets fans love Reyes, remembering the player he was during his first stint with the team. Four times (2005,2006, 2008 and 2011) Reyes led the league in triples. Three times (2005, 2006 and 2007) he led the league in stolen bases and in 2008 he led the league in hits. He was a four-time All-Star, National League batting champion in 2011 and won the Silver Slugger Award in 2006.
So that’s why they were cheering. They got the guy back that did all that. The only problem is Reyes is the guy that was arrested in Hawaii where he allegedly pulled his wife violently out of her bed, took her by the neck and slammed her into a door. The attack was so vicious EMTs were brought to the scene and took her away to the hospital.
Reyes was scheduled to go to trial on April 4, but his wife wouldn’t cooperate with police and prosecutors, likely learning the lesson from Ray Rice’s wife that doing so would probably cost her husband his career and he a significant source of income. Without her help, the case fell through and prosecutors dropped the charges.
Today's front page…
CHEERS FOR A WIFE BEATER: Mets fans give Jose Reyes a standing ovation https://t.co/HezteEynGa pic.twitter.com/9Y0oYjV8hm
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) July 6, 2016
None of us are stupid. We all know why Reyes walked and that’s why MLB suspended him 52 games and his former team, the Colorado Rockies, cut him and ate $29 million in money from his contract. They wanted no part of him and rightly so. The Mets, though, were willing to look past that whole beating a woman and putting her in a hospital thing.
The fans certainly don’t have a problem with it.
“What he did during the offseason is none of my personal business,” Mets fan Joe Devine told the New York Daily News. “If he beat on his wife, none of my personal business. He wants to play baseball, let him play baseball. If he can hit, fine.”
Yeah. He can hit alright.
It was just dumbass men who were willing to look past Reyes spousal knuckle sandwich delivery service.
“I didn’t want him back considering what he did,” Mets fan Nancy Kelly, a yoga instructor from Long Island said. “But he seemed to be regretful and he seemed to sincere so he’s worth giving a second chance.”
#JoseReyes collects his first hit in his return, a double. He later scored on a Grandy hit. 3-0 #Mets. pic.twitter.com/NqG0x0Vtwb
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) July 6, 2016
What Kelly is talking about is Reyes statement he released after the Mets signed him in the offseason.
“As I have expressed in the past, I deeply regret the incident that occurred and remain remorseful and apologetic to my family,” Reyes said in the statement. “I have completed the counseling required by MLB, have been in ongoing therapy, and will continue with counselling going forward. I appreciate the Mets organization for believing in me and providing the opportunity to come back home to New York.”
Does a guy like Reyes deserve a second chance? That’s not for me to say. People make mistakes, sometimes bad ones, and if they are sincere in their desire for atonement maybe we should take that seriously. I’m a hard-hearted guy when it comes to stuff like this, though, so that’s tough for me.
What I do know is that Reyes, contrite or not, does not deserve signs and a deafening roar from the crowd as he steps into the batters’ box. He’s only a Met because he beat up his wife and the Rockies cut him. This isn’t a triumphant return for God’s sake.
“I know there are some people who are going to hate me,” Reyes said before the game. “I put myself in that situation.”
Yes you did, Jose. And you put your wife in the hospital.
