Note: Jose Reyes is 25 years old
In the first inning of last night’s loss to the Angels, Jose Reyes led off the game with a single, but he grabbed at his hamstring before removing his batting gloves.
Jerry Manuel, just a few seconds in to his first game as manager, walked to first base and pulled Reyes from the game for a precautionary reasons.
However, Reyes walked away from his manager, towards the field, angry about being told to leave, while arguing and pleading his case in plain view for every one to see.
Reyes eventually gave in, left first base, untucked his shirt, threw his helmet toward the field, and bascially threw a temper tantrum, storming through the dugout and in to the clubhouse.
Manuel fixed his roster, and then immediately left the dugout for the clubhouse to talk with his young short stop.
Reyes returned, and apologized to his teammates.
…jeeez, how old is this kid…look, i don’t know what it is to be a major league baseball player, but i am pretty sure acting like a five-year-old child screaming for candy in line at the grocery store is not part of the professional game…unreal…
Manuel, on Reyes, while talking to reporters after the game:
“Well, you know, Jose is a guy who loves to play and hates to come out of a ballgame, and I think historically when he first got here, that was one of the things that kept happening to him. So, he kind of gets real frustrated when you do that. The one thing I love about him is that attitude. He wants to play. He wants to be on the field. He came back out and apologized to his teammates.
“Normally he can shake it out and he feels better. But me, this being my first game, I didn’t want to lose Jose Reyes for an extended period of time. I said, ‘Nah, I’ll let you squiggle and squirm, but you’re getting on out of here tonight. You can be mad all you want to, you can throw rocks, sling snot, cry all you want, but you’re coming out.’”
…well, i for one will not tolerate ‘snot slinging,’ jerry…count me out on that one, sir…i mean, that’s just gross…
Reyes, seemingly embarrassed, had the following to say to reporters after the game:
“I already apologized to Jerry about that. I’m hungry for the game. I just want to play the game, but he did the best decision there because it’s a long season. He wants me to stay healthy all season long.”
…in the long run, this is probably a win-win, in the sense that reyes and his hamstring were protected, and manuel got to play the heavy in the first possible moment of his time at the helm…
…show them who’s boss, jerry…
