Reyes: Mets fans 'showed me a lot of love' in return

When Jose Reyes stepped into the batter's box at Citi Field on Tuesday, the fans cheered for him just as they had all those years ago, when he was a perennial All-Star, one of baseball's best leadoff hitters, and, most importantly, not coming off a 52-game suspension for allegedly assaulting his wife.

Reyes, the repatriated New York Mets shortstop who hours earlier admitted he expected some people to hate him, appreciated the reception he got in his return to Queens.

"They showed me a lot of love, and I respect that," Reyes told Mike Puma of the New York Post following his club's 5-2 loss to the Miami Marlins.

Related: New York paper slams Reyes after Mets return

In his return to the lineup, his first MLB game since Oct. 4, 2015, Reyes went 0-for-4 as he dealt with the kind of nerves befitting a player that doesn't have more than a dozen years of service time in the bigs.

"I was a little excited, a little nervous," Reyes said. "I felt like it was my first game in the big leagues."

Terry Collins, who took over as the Mets' manager in 2011 (Reyes' final year with New York before hitting free agency), is optimistic the veteran who hit .292/.341/.441 in his first nine seasons in Queens will soon find his rhythm.

“We are just hoping today was a bundle of nerves, he was quite excited,” Collins said. “The response from the crowd tonight, before the game, during the game, he will calm down and get in the flow.”