The World's Worst Sports Blog

Dear Jenrry February 13, 2016

You idiot.

Jenrry Mejia during better days. TastyPoutine, photo.

You, Jenrry Mejia, were a top prospect by the time you were 20. You shined shoes, but switched to playing baseball because the money was better. It’s funny how the narrative focused on the first half of that sentence but ignored the second. If we’d listened a little harder, we would have seen this coming.

You tested positive for Stanozolol. While still under suspension, you tested positive for Stanozolol and Boldenone. Then, because you can’t get out of your own way, you tested positive a third and, hopefully, final time.

Jenrry, your conduct – and your “I didn’t do it” non-defense – is inexcusable. Some will look for reasons to believe you aren’t at fault, but the truth is that you had a responsibility to monitor what went into your body. Honestly, Jenrry, we know that you just didn’t care about whether you played or not. You were in it for the money, and you did whatever you thought you could get away with.

Your conduct isn’t the conduct of a player who was shocked to test positive. Your conduct is that of a greedy, slimy person who didn’t care that he was living someone else’s dream and who didn’t care what he was pissing away. The truth is you never cared about the Mets or their fans, and when you apply to be reinstated, we know you don’t care about the game. You’ll never play in the independent leagues just for love of the game, like Mark Hendrickson and Wilson Valdez. You might go back to the Dominican Republic and tell stories to children who don’t know any better about your connections to the big leagues. You might try to find work as a pitching coach. You might even try to write a book. But Jenrry, you know as well as we all do now – you wasted your talent because you didn’t love the game.

Those of us who do love the game? We understand, intellectually, why you’d do this, but – like Ted Williams, who never really wanted to be a manager, or Tiny Lister, who never wanted to wrestle – it just doesn’t make sense to those of us on the outside.

Sure, some good has come of this, particularly for current Mets closer Jeurys Familia and future Mets closer Hansel Robles. Jeurys wouldn’t have had the chance to step up; Hansel would have been stuck in the minors without getting the opportunities he did over most of this year. Even Vic Black and Logan Verrett, both at the margin most of the 2015 season, benefited from your stupidity.

The real good that came from this, though, is the newfound respect we have for people who really do have that love of the game. The Josh Paul, Kelly Shoppach, Don Kelly types who labor on the bench for years, the Michael Cuddyer types who maybe stay a little longer than they should but step aside when it’s right for the team, and the Julio Franco and Bobby Valentine types who will probably die in the middle of a game. You reminded us of the need for those people, who truly love the game.

You colossal, ungrateful idiot.