New York Mets president Sandy Alderson says that his firm was shortsighted in its hiring procedure while vetting former director Mickey Callaway, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by five girls at a recent report from The Athletic.
“When we hired Mickey, Mickey was the hot commodity,” Alderson said Monday. “There were a variety of groups which were anxious to talk to him and possibly sign him to a contract. We felt very lucky at the opportunity to get him according to his reputation in the match.
“Now, was that shortsighted on our character and too narrow a focus? I believe that the answer is most likely yes.”
Callaway was hired by the Mets in October 2017 and spent two seasons because their supervisor before becoming the pitching coach to the Los Angeles Angels at October 2019. The Angels suspended Callaway last month in the Aftermath of the report by The Sport and is working together with Major League Baseball on running a Complete investigation.
Callaway has denied wrongdoing, which averts the Angels from firing him without just cause from a diagnosis.
Alderson hired Callaway at October 2017. According to the report from The Athletic, in August 2018 — 10 months after the hiring — that the Mets learned of an episode involving Callaway that happened before the team hired him. While the group investigated the matter, the Mets failed to show the essence of the incident or the outcome of the probe. Callaway continued handling the group before the finish of this 2019 season.
“I think particularly in retrospect, there probably should’ve been a broader assessment of his qualifications,” Alderson said. “In relation to people we really talked to, there were no reservations. I believe the procedure should’ve been broader. We have learned that lesson and the procedure that we currently have is and will probably be broader than it had been in 2018.”
Alderson’s comments came following a tumultuous offseason during which the Mets fired general manager Jared Porter and hitting operation planner Ryan Ellis for sexual harassment. Alderson said the team is being more”intentional” in its hiring process.
“With regard to the vetting process, we are becoming more intentional about communicating with girls who’ve had some contact, not automatically fellow workers, however other third parties that may have come in touch” Alderson said Monday. “We are likely taking our background checks to a marginally higher degree to the extent we are able to.”
Alderson said that moving forward, the Mets will probably be reaching out to girls around the game so as to get a wider sense of a candidate’s reputation throughout baseball.
“We only need to be aware of every one of those scenarios,” he explained. “We have to be broader in our understanding of those folks are what their backgrounds may be.”
This offseason, the Mets heavily chased free-agent pitcher Trevor Bauer, whose social media existence has prompted accusations of online bullying, including two women who eventually become subject to harassment by Bauer’s followers.
Alderson said that if the Mets signed Bauer, who finally signed with all the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team proposed on Bauer having discussions with groups, including girls, to speak to him about his social networking behaviour.
“We spoke extensively to the representative about what we thought would be crucial for carrying responsibility for what happened before and what could occur later on. We spent a lot of time on it. “We weren’t being innocent, I don’t believe, in the sense which we’re able to turn this guy around on a dime and turn him into something he wasn’t before.”
“But I felt as though we can manage it provided that we were communicating with him being attuned to what was happening. We felt we could handle it. It is possible we couldn’t have been capable, but at this point, we don’t need to worry about doing it.”
