In his first public comments since serving a domestic violence suspension, Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán began his news conference on Wednesday by reading a lengthy prepared statement.
“I want to sincerely apologize to the Steinbrenner family, my teammates, front office, and those around me who love me,” Germán said through a translator. “I have made mistakes, of which I’m not proud of. And for that, I want to apologize.”
Germán, who was given an 81-game ban after an incident with his girlfriend in September 2019, continued his statement by asking forgiveness for not being available to the team during the 2019 playoffs, adding that he understands he’s the one responsible for putting himself in that position.
He also thanked Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman, noting that he is “eternally grateful” to them and ready to “reestablish myself as a contributor to this team.”
Asked if he was still with his girlfriend, German said yes, explaining about their relationship:
“My partner and I, thank God we’ve been able to have and had a good relationship. We’re together and when you ask ‘how can I be a better person,’ I think one of the ways is through my actions. Showing how I can be a better person through my actions.”
Asked what steps he’s taken to ensure his partner can feel safe and why teammates and fans should feel comfortable having him on the roster, German said:
“Communication. Lots of conversations between her and I. We talked about it a lot. Many, many, many times. We’ve promised to each other not to go through something like this ever again. This is the first time it happened. I think that has been the best way for us to really get through all this. Creating a safe environment is communicating and understanding each other in a better way.
“Your second part of the question, you talk about how fans, how can they feel secure having me on the team? And I can say it’s gonna be through my actions. And the way I behave and I move forward from all this.”
Yankees reliever Zack Britton made critical comments about Germán earlier this week. And Germán, who addressed his teammates on Tuesday, said he didn’t take Britton’s comments personally.
“I did see his comments. He has a right to do that,” Germán said. “I understood where he was coming from. The good thing is I had the opportunity to talk with him and he basically gave me really good advice on how I can improve.
“At the same time, the comments he made were not to be taken personal, (they were) more on a professional level. Like I said, from that conversation, he gave me really good advice which I’m thankful for.”
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].