Mike Leake Looking To Get Arrest Wiped From Record

On Monday, in an unusual story, Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Mike Leake was arrested for attempting to steal $60 worth of shirts from an area Macy's. Leake, naturally, was embarrassed and apologetic over the whole thing, and on Tuesday, just prior to his arraignment, Leake made a move towards getting his arrest wiped from his record.

Doing so would involve Leake entering the city's diversion program for first offenders. His attorney spoke with the judge about the program, and a May 18 hearing date has been set to determine whether or not Leake is a suitable candidate.

If he is, Leake would admit guilt to his offense and pay a $200 program fee. From there, he would check in with an official on a monthly basis and attend classes, undergo counseling, and/or perform community service. If Leake were able to fulfill all of the program's obligations, the arrest would be erased from his public record.

What will never be erased is the public memory of Major League Baseball player Mike Leake attempting to steal $60 worth of shirts from an area Macy's.

Mike Leake Apologizes To Everyone And Their Mothers

From the Reds’ official statement about Mike Leake’s arrest for shoplifting:

“Today, Mike Leake was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of theft from the Macy’s store downtown,” the statement from the club continued. “Right now, he has been advised by his attorney to offer no further statements on this matter. This case will proceed in the justice system, where Mike’s story will be told. Until that time, there will be nothing further from Mike on this episode until the court proceedings have concluded. However, Mike wishes to apologize to his family, the fans, Mr. Castellini, Walt, Dusty, his teammates and the entire Reds organization for this distraction.”

Two things about this:

One, Leake is either really messed up, or slightly less messed up and was just pulling some sort of gag.

Two, who knew you could get a shirt at Macy’s for ten bucks? Apparently Leake removed the tags from six shirts, worth the grand total of $59.88. I need to spend more time at Macy’s.

The maximum sentence for one count of misdemeanor shoplifting is 180 days in jail. I’ll bet Leake doesn’t do a day over 179.

Reds' Mike Leake Arrested For Theft

Not sure if anyone was expecting to read that headline today, but Cincinnati Reds' pitcher Mike Leake was arrested for shoplifting on Monday afternoon. From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Leake...was arrested after Macy's department store loss prevention employees stopped the Reds pitcher today after they say he took $59.88 in property from the store.

In case you were wondering, Leake's draft bonus was about $2.3 million. But if you spend $2.4 million on shirts, you have to find creative ways to get more shirts, I guess. 

Leake, a right-handed starting pitcher, made the Reds' rotation in 2010 without spending a day in the minor leagues, the first pitcher to do so since Jim Abbott. He was off to a 2-0 start with a 5.40 ERA in his first three starts of 2011. 

The crime was reported to be a misdemeanor by Cincinnati police, so it's almost certain that Leake will be able to make his next start unless the Reds or MLB decide to reprimand him with a suspension.