Reese is found but where was missing player?

By Juan C. Rodriguez
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted March 4 2006


JUPITER -- Without warning or explanation, infielder Pokey Reese disappeared from Marlins spring training Thursday.

Until receiving word late Friday afternoon from agent Mike Nicotera that Reese was safe, the Marlins had no idea what had become of their free-agent acquisition.

"He was playing well. He looked healthy. We were happy with him," said general manager Larry Beinfest, before learning Reese was not in peril. "I don't know anything else."

Beinfest would not say whether Nicotera informed the club about the circumstances around Reese's abrupt departure or if they could expect him back in camp.

Nicotera could not be reached. Calls to Reese's cell phone went to voicemail.

Reese was not part of the assigned travel squad for Thursday's game against the Orioles in Fort Lauderdale. He did not report to Jupiter and efforts to locate him through Nicotera and other friends were unsuccessful.

The Marlins appraised Major League Baseball of the situation, but the police were never involved. Beinfest said the team sent someone to knock on the door of Reese's Palm Beach Gardens spring residence, but no one answered.

Lenny Harris, a Reese teammate with the Cincinnati Reds in 1997-98, tried calling him before Thursday's game at the request of manager Joe Girardi.

"I never played with nobody that just got up and left like that," said Harris, a 17-year big-league veteran. "I just hope everything is all right because that's kind of weird for a guy like him. I'm looking at it like it might be something personal. It might be a family tragedy or something like that. I don't know."

Reese has suffered more family tragedy in the last 15 years than most endure in a lifetime. In 1993, his fiancée and mother of his first child died in a car accident. Three years later, the mother of his son Naquawan died while giving birth to another man's child. As a toddler, Naquawan witnessed the brutal murders of his maternal grandmother and great-grandmothers, who were his primary caregivers.

"None of us know what it's like to be Pokey Reese and the issues he has to deal with on a daily basis, so I'm not upset with him," said Girardi, after his team's 5-4 win over the Orioles at Roger Dean Stadium Friday. "We don't know if something personal came up that he had to tend to. We're waiting for a phone call."

Although the Marlins had not heard from Reese, Girardi's original lineup included him. The team did not announce the scratch until just before the 1:05 p.m. first pitch.

Reese, who underwent two shoulder surgeries and missed all of last season, signed a one-year, $800,000 deal with the Marlins. He was vying for the starting second base job and all indications were he was acclimating well to his new club.

"It's unusual," Beinfest said. "I can't remember this ever happening and this is my 16th spring. I just hope he's OK."

Added Harris: "It's a surprise to me just like everybody else. I hope everything is all right with him."
==========================================


I hope so, too. That guy has been through some real crap, and I wish him the best.