Brett Myers Wants to Be Liked, Hates Boston

It's a good thing the Rays won the American League pennant, because had the Red Sox won, the Phillies might have had to juggle their starting rotation. Or something like that. From Bob Nightengale of the USA TODAY:

"I did not want to play Boston," says Myers, 28. "If Boston had beat Tampa, I would have gone to (manager) Charlie (Manuel) and told him, 'I don't want to pitch in Boston.'

"I don't ever want to pitch in Boston again."

If you remember, it was in Boston during the 2006 season that Brett Myers was arrested for allegedly beating his wife, Kim, outside a downtown bar. Despite the charges, he actually started the very next day. The Phillies caught a lot of flack for not holding him out, though for what it's worth, the scorn he received from the fans apparently scarred him for life.

Yet when Myers pitched the next day in Boston, he was alone. He heard the vicious chants. He says he was pelted by plastic beer bottles and trash when he warmed up in the bullpen.

"What happened to me that day in Boston, on the field, I wouldn't wish that on nobody," Myers says. "It wasn't just the boos and the things people were throwing. It was just what people thought about me. I didn't have a chance to explain. My lawyers told me not to, so I couldn't talk.

"For me to even pitch that day was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in life."

Despite multiple reports that Myers struck his wife in the face and dragged her by her hair, Myers denies allegations of abuse, though he admits they were both heavily intoxicated at the time. For what it's worth, Myers still denies hitting his wife, though he admits they were both heavily intoxicated. The charges were eventually dropped after Kim pleaded her husband's innocence, and the two remain married.

Myers expressed regret that people still remember him for the incident and Kim described him as being extremely sensitive. But while I understand his plight about having a stained reputation, if it weren't for articles like this, we probably wouldn't be talking about it anymore.

By and large, Myers got a pass from the mainstream media, whereas guys like Tim McCarver and Joe Buck spent much of the NCLS heaping scorn on Manny Ramirez for the dastardly crime of loafing in Boston (even though the numbers don't bear it out). Life is unfair, people make snap judgments without knowing the whole story, but these days, a lot of other people have it worse.