Correction: An earlier version of this story said that the Mets “nominated” Jose Reyes for the Marvin Miller Award. That was not accurate. What the MLBPA announcement today reflected was that, among league-wide voting -- not just Mets voting, but voting among all MLB players -- Reyes received the most votes out of any New York Mets player. While it is still perplexing that anyone would consider Reyes worthy of being honored for his “inspirational” qualities and “contribution to his community” given his track record, it is different to say that he received more votes than any of his teammates than it is to say that he was “nominated” by the Mets.
The Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award is given out each year to the player who “inspires others to higher levels of achievement by their on-field performances and contributions to their communities.” Players are voted on for the award by their fellow major leaguers. Finalists and a winner will be announced later in the year.
There are several of these sorts of awards this time of year and they tend not to get too much notice, but this year one of the Marvin Miller vote-getters should get more notice than usual: it’s Jose Reyes, who was the top vote-getter among Mets players.
Yes, the same Jose Reyes who was arrested and subsequently suspended for allegedly shoving his wife into a sliding glass door after grabbing her around the throat. The police report of the incident, which took place in Hawaii, said that the assault resulted in injuries. Prosecutors ultimately moved dismiss the domestic abuse charges because his wife refused to cooperate as a witness. Major League Baseball ended up suspending him for the first 51 games of the 2016 season.
In other news, Reyes was sued for unpaid child support in 2017. The plaintiff was a woman with whom Reyes had an affair approximately a year after he was married.
That’s worthy of man of the Year votes, huh? Inspires others to higher level of achievement? Contributes to his community?
OK.