Carlos Beltran out as Mets manager, agrees with team to part ways
NEW YORK – Two weeks. That’s all it took. Carlos Beltran enjoyed being the Mets manager for two weeks before he found himself at the center of arguably the biggest cheating scandal in baseball history – leaving the Mets snake-bitten.
Beltran lost his job as New York Mets manager Thursday. His tenure lasted just 77 days and ended before spring training started.
“We met with Carlos last night and again this morning and agreed to mutually part ways,” COO Jeff Wilpon and GM Brodie Van Wagenen said in a joint statement. “This was not an easy decision.”
A nine-page report from Major League Baseball commissioner Robert Manfred, released Monday, cited him as one of the Astros players involved in the 2017 sign-stealing scandal.
“At a meeting this morning with Jeff and Brodie we mutually agreed to part ways. I’m grateful to them for giving me the opportunity, but we agreed this decision is in the best interest of the team,” Beltran said Thursday.
Beltran also apologized in a separate statement to ESPN. “As a veteran player I should’ve recognized the severity of the issue, and truly regret the actions that were taken.”
“I’m very sorry. It’s not who I am as a father, a husband, a teammate and as an educator.”
“Considering the circumstances, it became clear to all parties that it was not in anyone’s best interest for Carlos to move forward as Manager of the New York Mets,” Wilpon and Van Wagenen’s joint statement said. “We believe that Carlos was honest and forthcoming with us.”
The departure came after Astros owner Jim Crane fired GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch on Monday and the Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora on Tuesday. All three were named in the commissioner’s report as accountable for the scheme. The league decided it would not punish Astros players for the “player-driven” illegal signstealing.