Mets manager Mickey Callaway and LHP Jason Vargas were involved in a shouting incident with a reporter following Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Callaway called Newsday reporter Tim Healey "motherf---er" multiple times and told him to leave the clubhouse, while Vargas needed to be restrained by teammates as he defended Callaway, according to the New York Daily News' Deesha Thosar.
"The Mets sincerely regret the incident that took place with one of our beat writers following today's game in the clubhouse," the Mets said in a statement. "We do not condone this type of behavior from any employee."
Callaway took exception when Healey, after the postgame interview session, saw the Mets manager walking out of his office and said, "See you tomorrow, Mickey," to which Callaway replied, "Don't be a smarta--," Healey recounted in an interview with fellow Newsday beat writer David Lennon.
After a few minutes, when Callaway saw Healey again, he continued cursing at him. According to Yahoo! Sports' Matt Ehalt, Callaway said, "Get the f--- out of here. We don't need that bulls---."
Said Healey: "I couldn't confidently tell you exactly what he said, but he said, 'You know we're going to be in a bad mood after a loss,' or something like that. And I tried to tell him, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just saying I'll see you tomorrow. And then he said, 'Get this guy out of here,' and that got the attention of Jason Vargas."
Nearby, Vargas was at his locker staring down Healey, and according to Ehalt, that's when Vargas threatened Healey by saying, "I'll knock you the f--- out, bro."
Both Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Gomez restrained Vargas while Mets Director of Media Relations Ethan Wilson was able to put himself between Healey and Vargas. That's when Healey said he walked away. No punches were thrown.
Healey said Mets COO Jeff Wilpon called him to personally apologize for the incident.
"He stressed the fact that I should feel comfortable being able to do my job at the ballpark and that moving forward, there's no reason for me to feel uncomfortable," Healey said. "I appreciated that sentiment from him, absolutely."
"The organization has reached out and apologized to this reporter and will have further discussions internally with all involved parties," the Mets said in a statement.