NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets have fired team executive Tony Bernazard following his recent outburst in the minor leagues.
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday that Bernazard was let go. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because there had not been an official announcement.
The Mets called a news conference before Monday night's game against Colorado.
Bernazard was the vice president of player development for the Mets. The team had been investigating a report that he challenged members of their Double-A Binghamton affiliate to fight him during a postgame tirade this month.
A scrappy infielder in the majors from 1979-1991, the 52-year-old Bernazard had held the Mets' job since December 2004. Prior to that post, he was a special assistant to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Mets general manager Omar Minaya recently said he would look into Bernazard's actions.
"We'll sit down and talk this weekend," Minaya said this month. "We'll sit down with the owners and see how we're going to handle it."
The New York Daily News reported that while visiting the Binghamton Mets, Bernazard took off his shirt while talking in the clubhouse to players and challenged them to a fight.
The Mets have struggled this year on the major and minor league levels. Beset by injuries, New York began the week 10½ games behind Philadelphia in the NL East. Triple-A Buffalo has the worst record in the International League and Double-A Binghamton has the poorest record in the Eastern League.
Bernazard hit .262 with 75 home runs and 391 RBIs with Montreal, the Chicago White Sox, Seattle, Cleveland and Detroit.
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