McDonald: Forgiving Reyes Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Jose Reyes hopes Thomas Wolfe is wrong.

Yes, you can go home again.

Reyes is back with the Mets and played his first game with the Brooklyn Cyclones.

But don’t let the 0-3 today, at the plate, fool you, Reyes is ready to play and he want to prove some doubters wrong.

“Let me be clear:  People think I’m going to steal 60 bases and 20 triples,” he said. “Let’s not get too crazy. That happened a long time ago, I’m 33 now. Last year I stole 24 bases in 115 games and hit .276. I got traded to Colorado. I’ve never been in that situation before get traded in the middle of the season and move my family. I was not happy there and I see people saying he can’t play anymore. The year before I hit .285. I don’t want people to think I can’t play anymore. “

On the field Reyes will be fine. He’s happy to be back with the Mets and he will play where the Mets need him. Heck, he might even catch if the Mets ask him.

“When you are coming home, it doesn’t matter what room you sleep,” he said. “You are comfortable that you are home. You are comfortable and you are going to be happy.  So it doesn’t matter what position they want to put me on. “

Reyes coming back is more than a baseball decision. He should be fine on the field and he should adjust to third and even the outfield. And frankly, he’s going to be a better option than say Ty Kelly and Alejandro DeAza. If this was just a move to better the team then it’s already a home run.

But there’s more to it than that. With the domestic violence allegations against Reyes, the Mets are trying to be very careful with Reyes. Was this just one mistake or a start of a pattern of a monster wearing No. 7?

Well today, Reyes spoke at length with the media about it. He spoke from the heart and often repeated himself, which is a trait of his. But he wanted to get his point across. He seemed to want forgiveness.

“I don’t know what to expect,” he said. “I know a lot of people like me here in New York and I know there were people calling my name. It’s a good feeling. People still like me. They know this is the first time they got in trouble. I am happy to be here and happy to get a second chance.”

However he added: “I know some people are going to be hard on me. I respect that. I put myself in that. I made a mistake a terrible mistake and we will see what happens.”

If you are a person who can’t see past this incident, then no one, not the Mets, not Reyes, and not this space will blame you for booing the Mets infielder. Reyes made his personal choice with his wife and now he will have to suffer the consequences. He is going through the MLB mandated counseling and will continue to do so over the next year.

Understand, his wife and kids forgave him already, according to Reyes. “I never broke up with my family,” he said. “They have been together with me through these tough times. They were here today. (My wife was here with me kids.) They stuck behind me and now we are trying to be a happy family.”

You don’t know why Katherine Reyes stuck by her man and there’s no explanation necessary. She was a victim and if she wanted to get out, she would have been well compensated in the divorce.  You have to believe she forgave him.

But one positive can come out of this. If the sight of Reyes playing at Citi Field helps prevent one domestic violence situation and works to wipe this kind of violence away forever then  this ugly negative can be turned into a positive.

Reyes is very lucky. He got his second chance and we will see if any good can come out of this. Today was a good start with his act of contrition.

Hopefully he learns his lesson.

About the Author

Joe McDonald

Editor-in-Chief
Joe McDonald is the founder and former publisher of NY Sports Day. After selling to i15Media in 2020, he serves as the Editor-in-Chief and responsible for the editorial side of the publication. In the past, Joe was the managing editor of NY Sportscene magazine and assistant editor of Mets Inside Pitch. He has covered the Mets since 2004.

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