Rays pitcher Reyes slugged, Tased, arrested at Tampa bar

Rays pitcher Al Reyes, left, talks with Manager Joe Maddon, before Friday's game against Baltimore.  [James Borchuck, Times]

Update, 9:50 p.m. Reyes came in to pitch in Friday's game, got the final two outs of the eighth inning and ended up with the victory as the Rays rallied to a 10-5 win.
"Pretty long day,'' Reyes said. "It was good to come up with a win. ... Whatever happened last night I just forget about that and I tried to stay positive and focus on the game. I don't want to let anything affect me and the way I'm pitching.''

TAMPA -- Tampa Police arrested Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Al Reyes early this morning, saying the reliever was drunk and disruptive when he fell down, picked a fight and spit blood at patrons of a popular Hyde Park night spot where Jessica Sierra was arrested last year.

Reyes made a brief apology before Friday's game at Tropicana Field but took no questions and offered no explanations; Thursday was his 38th birthday. The team does not plan to discipline him, manager Joe Maddon said, and expects him to be available to pitch if needed.

    "It's one of those unfortunate isloated incidents,'' Maddon said. "I don't really believe you're going to see that happen again with Al. We're just going to move beyond it. It's unfortunate that it occurred.''

Reyes said: "I tried to have a good time on my birthday but I guess that was the worst one. I just want to apologize again to my teammates, the organization, the owner and the fans for what happened last night.''

Witnesses told police the incident started around 2:30 a.m. at the Hyde Park Cafe, 1806 W Platt St., when Reyes fell against a ceramic pot inside the bar. Thinking someone had pushed him, police said Reyes began exchanging words with patron Eduardo Mora.

Mora then punched Reyes in the face, getting the attention of the Hyde Park Cafe's bouncers. Meanwhile, police said in a news release, Reyes "began to spit blood on the people in the area and began to swing his arms about."

The bouncers tried to control Reyes, but the 6-foot-1, 240-pound right-hander kept pushing them away. A Tampa Police officer working extra duty at the bar stepped in and yelled, "Stop Police!," but Reyes "continued spitting blood and thrashing about," according to a police incident report.

Moments later, the officer warned Reyes he was going to Taser the pitcher, and he did, knocking him to the bar floor. Ignoring police commands to stay down, authorities said Reyes got up and was Tasered a second time.

Reyes calmed down and was treated for a cut to his nose, police said. He refused to be transported to a hospital.

Reached at home Friday, Mora, 31, said he never hit Reyes. His friend did, Mora said. But he declined to name him. He said a woman at the bar witnessed the punch and can vouch for Mora's innocence. He also declined to provide her name but said he would provide his soon-to-be hired attorney with her information.

Mora's story goes like this: He was drinking at the bar with his friend, when his friend disappeared. All of a sudden, a woman near the bar turned to Mora and said, "Did you see what your friend did?"

Mora turned and saw Reyes holding his hand to his nose, which was gushing blood. Mora looked for his friend, but the man was gone. Reyes, who seemed to have been drinking heavily all night, began reaching out for people, Mora said.

"All of a sudden, he started touching everybody," Mora said. "He was lost. He just got hit. He was trying to find out who hit him."

Reyes got ahold of Mora, who was about three feet away, and bled all over his T-shirt. He didn't think Reyes was spitting blood, he said. It was just gushing out of him.

"That's when the bouncers got all over me, and they were really aggressive to me. I didn't do anything to anybody," he said. "Nobody saw anything. Everybody's just assuming things. I'm really upset."

Mora said he didn't see Reyes get Tasered because the bouncers had him on the floor.

Mora said if he had hit Reyes, he wouldn't have stuck around immediately afterward.

"I should have left after he got hit," he said, "but I didn't have anything to hide."

Mora, who said he works as a mortgage broker, has been arrested before on charges of DUI and domestic violence battery, according to state arrest records. He was charged with battery on Friday after the fight with Reyes.

Reyes was charged with affray. Both were released on their own recognizance.

Tampa police spokesman Jim Contento, a retired sergeant, said it's common for police to release suspects in these type of incidents without booking them in jail. He didn't expect police to press more charges, he said.

"They're very minor midsdemeanor charges," he said. "They have ties to the community and we know they're going to show up in court."

A Tampa police spokeswoman didn't know who Reyes was with at Hyde Park Cafe and Mora said he didn't recognize the pitcher or anyone with him. He didn't notice if Reyes was having a birthday party or not.

Police have been called more than 130 times to the Hyde Park Cafe in the last year, a place Contento called "busy" for police. Early Friday, police were summoned there three times, according to a log of police calls. Two seemed to be related to Reyes' arrest.

But the last call came at 3:55 p.m. -- hours afterward -- reporting a fight.

Hyde Park Cafe officials could not be reached Friday.

Casey Cora and Justin George, Times staff writers