Tony Bernazard, a New York Mets executive, recently challenged one of club's minor league teams to a fight during a postgame clubhouse tirade.
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David (aka David)
Jul 22 '09, 14:13
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Tony Bernazard, a New York Mets executive, recently challenged one of club's minor league teams to a fight during a postgame clubhouse tirade, the New York Daily News reported, citing multiple sources with ties to the team.
Bernazard, the team's vice president for player development, pulled off his shirt and challenged the Double-A Binghamton Mets in the tirade, about 10 days before the All-Star break. He in particular targeted middle infield prospect Jose Coronado, according to the report.
The Mets will conduct an "internal investigation" of Bernazard, a major league source said, according to FoxSports.com.
Binghamton had gone 1-6 during an early July homestand that coincided with the outburst, losing three of those games by at least seven runs. The team was 37-58 and in last place in the Eastern League Northern Division entering Wednesday's scheduled games.
Allegations of underage drinking on the team were apparently another factor in Bernazard's tirade, an organization source said, according to the report.
"It's ridiculous that anyone in a professional baseball environment thinks it's acceptable," a friend of several players said, according to the report.
Mets general manager Omar Minaya said Bernazard spoke to the minor league team in a "stern voice," but said he had no knowledge of the particulars.
"I know he did have a team meeting with them," Minaya said, according to the Daily News. "It was not a 'you-guys-have-been-great meeting.' I know he spoke to them in a stern voice. But as far as what he was wearing, what kind of shoes he was wearing, I don't know anything about that."
It's the second report in two days of startling behavior by Bernazard, 52, who has been fingered in the media as a key influence behind the firings of manager Willie Randolph and pitching coach Rick Peterson last season.
The Daily News reported on Tuesday that at a recent game at Citi Field, Bernazard, who wanted a seat behind home plate that was occupied by an Arizona Diamondbacks scout, unleashed a profanity-laced tirade against a subordinate who suggested he wait until the half-inning was over to take the seat.
It has not been a good season on the field for the Mets' top farm teams. Their top affiliate, the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, is an International League-worst 34-58 entering Wednesday's games.
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