Things have not gone so well for the New York Mets this summer.
The team sits nine games out of first in the National League East division, and on Sunday they allowed three runs in the bottom of the eighth to fall to the Chicago Cubs 5-3.
It seems that things reached a boiling point in the clubhouse after the loss, as tempers flared between manager Mickey Callaway and a beat reporter, which led to another altercation between the same reporter and pitcher Jason Vargas.
Vargas threatened Newsday reporter Tim Healey, and had to be restrained by teammates in the visiting clubhouse at Wrigley Field.
Here’s how things unfolded according to Yahoo Sports’ Matt Ehalt:
As reporters waited for Diaz, Callaway, wearing a black shirt, emerged from his office and walked past a reporter, who told him “see you tomorrow, Mickey.”
Callaway, still on edge from the loss, turned around and yelled, “Don’t be a smart (expletive), (expletive).”
He later returned and engaged the reporter about the comment, which was not made maliciously, and Callaway raised his voice while he hurled expletives, telling a team public relations official to remove the reporter.
“Get the (expletive) out of here,” Callaway said. “We don’t need that (expletive) here.”
That drew the ire of nearby Vargas, who threatened and charged at the reporter before being held back by Carlos Gomez and Noah Syndergaard, according to Ehalt.
“I’ll knock you the (expletive) out, bro,” Vargas said according to Ehalt.
The Mets issued the following statement after the game:
“The Mets sincerely regret the incident that took place with one of our beat writers following today’s game in the clubhouse,” the team wrote. “We do not condone this type of behavior from any employee. The organization has reached out and apologized to this reporter and will have further discussions internally with all involved parties.”
