Jose Reyes on Mets return: ‘I feel like I need a second chance’
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Fans cheered for Jose Reyes in his first appearance for the Mets’ Class A affiliate since signing a minor league contract with New York on Saturday.
Reyes went 0 for 3 in the leadoff spot for the Brooklyn Cyclones, and played errorless defense over six innings at third base.
Reyes said after the game that hearing fans cheer for him in his return to New York—where he played for the first nine years of his career—was “amazing,” but added he knows he won’t always be greeted with cheers rather than boos.
“I know some people out there, they’re going to be hard on me, and I respect that,” Reyes said, according to ESPN. “I understand. I put myself in that situation. But like I said, I’ll stand up here like a man, and I made a bad mistake. That was a terrible mistake. I’ll do everything I need to do to try to get better, and we’ll see what happens."
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Reyes, 33, was designated for assignment by the Colorado Rockies after completing his 52-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy.
He was arrested Oct. 31 following a physical altercation with his wife at a resort in Hawaii. The domestic abuse charges against him were dropped in April, but he was still suspended through May 31 by MLB.
“Through all those years that I played here in New York, I never got in trouble,” Reyes said. “I was a happy kid who loved to play the game and who loved to enjoy the game and helping my ballclub to win. Like I said, we’re human beings. We make mistakes. But I feel like I need a second chance.”
