Joe Torre founded his Safe at Home Foundation in 2002, the result of growing up in a Brooklyn home with domestic violence, and the foundation’s golf and tennis event has become an annual staple of the Westchester summer scene.
This year’s gathering, however, marked a milestone that no one would have anticipated 14 years ago. For the first time, Torre and his boss Rob Manfred had to talk about a baseball season that featured high-profile players returning from suspensions for the very act of domestic violence.
Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and Mets third baseman Jose Reyes both are contributing to teams in playoff races, and both have received strong support from their respective fan bases. Both joined their teams midseason because they violated baseball’s collectively bargained policy on domestic violence.
And because they have served their time, the duo received support from baseball’s leaders, the mixed feelings out there notwithstanding.
“They did [complete their suspensions], and I think they’re let back on the field because they did serve their time,” Torre, baseball’s chief baseball officer, said at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough Thursday. “It’s something that you never like to see happen, but if things do happen, you want to see it recognized and have people understand it’s not the right way to act. Discipline’s important, but the part that it’s not repeated is hugely important.”
When asked a question specifically about Reyes, Manfred, baseball’s commissioner, expressed a similar take.
“I understand people’s mixed reactions, but I do think in general, we live in a society where people believe in second chances,” Manfred said. “I know that Jose committed himself to the educational and counseling component of his discipline. We’re really hopeful that he’ll resume his career in a positive way.”
Reyes served a 51-game suspension after getting arrested last October for allegedly assaulting his wife in Hawaii; the Rockies subsequently released him and the Mets signed him. Chapman sat out the first 30 games of the schedule after an argument with his girlfriend last October in his South Florida home prompted the police to come, although there was no arrest.
Of the policy in general, with Chapman and Reyes the most famous perpetrators, Manfred said, “I think that the feedback has generally been positive. I think that people appreciate that we tried to get in front of the issue by negotiating a policy before we really needed it. And I think the players accepting their punishment under the collectively bargained policy is a real positive.”