Dom wears heart on sleeve
Emotional Smith opens up about protests after Mets beat Marlins
Dominic Smith is hurting, deeply. The 25-year-old took 30 seconds to himself, and let his tears fall freely, after a postgame question following the Mets' 5-4 win over the Marlins on Wednesday about how difficult this year has been for the Mets first baseman. Smith was raw, emotional, candid and heartbroken after what he called a long day.
It was eerily quiet at Citi Field 45 minutes before first pitch Wednesday.
At that moment, several professional sports teams, starting with the Milwaukee Bucks, decided not to play their scheduled games in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man in Kenosha, Wis.
“I think the most difficult part is to see, people still don't care,” Smith said, choking back his tears. “For this to continuously happen, it shows the hate in people's hearts. That just sucks. Being a black man in America is not easy. I wasn't there mentally today.”
The NBA later announced all Wednesday playoff games would be rescheduled. The WNBA also postponed their games.
As the attention shifted to MLB, the Milwaukee Brewers announced they would not play Wednesday, as well. The Mets and Marlins, scheduled for a 7:10 p.m. first pitch at Citi Field, had a decision to make on whether the teams would play or strike. As the evening drew closer to first pitch, it became apparent that they would play as originally intended.
“Things happen fast,” Smith said. “A lot of this stuff was going on while we were at the field, so we were trying to prep, get ready for the game. A lot of times we're not on our phone, we're not checking in.”
Jacob de Grom walked to the bullpen for his pregame warmup routine. Marlins players cropped up on the field and began to stretch and get loose. The Mets came up from their clubhouse and filtered into the dugout. Minutes later, an American flag graphic emerged on the jumbotron, signaling that the national anthem was about to start. Dominic Smith took a knee. “With everything that's going on in the world, I just decided to take a little notice and for the world to take a step back and really see what's going on. That's why I chose tonight,” Smith said. “I felt like tonight was the perfect tonight, especially with other teams canceling their games. Especially looking at the NBA, they canceled all their games today. I just wanted to make a stand like that just to show my support.”
He was positioned directly on the first-base line just beyond the infield dirt as the instrumental anthem music rang through Citi Field. He was alone in his action, one he previously said he would not take because it simply wasn't enough. On Wednesday, in light of Blake being shot seven times in the back by a white police officer, the shooting was enough for Smith to kneel, by himself, for the first time in the 2020 season.
"I've learned a lot about Dom. I've known him for a very long time," Michael Conforto said. "I'm definitely sympathetic to the experiences that he's had. His world is much different than mine. So it's definitely helped me to listen and to understand where he's coming from and where a ton of people are coming from."
Smith's teammates did not publicly support him by kneeling by his side for the anthem. The first baseman didn't mind.
“It's not for them,” Smith said. “I don't care. That sh-t doesn't matter. It's not for them.”
Though no one kneeled beside Smith, the Mets' social media account attempted to gain brownie points from their popular and red-hot hitter by tweeting a picture of him kneeling, with the caption, “We are united for change.”
By the fourth inning of the Mets' 5-4 win over the Marlins, the Seattle Mariners had also decided to sit out of their Wednesday game against the San Diego Padres. By the sixth inning, the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers game had also been postponed, marking the third MLB team to sit out to raise awareness of police brutality and social and racial injustice.
“We're headed in a good direction but to see the constant stuff that reoccurs, it's just terrible,” Smith said. “My heart goes out to their family and I just hope I don't see it happen to my kids. And that's the thing that I fear.”
Smith was born in South Central, L.A. and he grew up in a gritty neighborhood complete with drug abuse, crime and gang violence. The 25year-old learned to stay out of trouble and focus on positivity. He's now encouraged by the uptick in vocal athletes emerging this season. He's already seen a change in individuals being more open in listening to his stories about experiencing racism and hatred in America.
“I like to set up toys for tots drives during the offseason, especially for Christmas time, do stuff for Thanksgiving, give back to the homeless,” Smith said. “I like to just give my time. That's the thing. Money is just material things. I didn't grow up with money, so that sh-t doesn't mean anything to me. If you can give your time, that's the only way we can change.”
Smith isn't sure if the Mets will play their series finale against the Marlins on Thursday. Perhaps, after talking as a team, they won't. But baseball, Smith said, is his safe haven. And while he may continue kneeling, he wouldn't want to miss a game for the world.
“I'm here, I love baseball,” Smith said. “We're here. If there's a game tomorrow, I'm sure I'll be here.”