Mets: Who really is responsible for Carlos Beltran’s ouster?

MLB and Rob Manfred

There’s a famous scene in the hit TV series Breaking Bad, where Mike Ehrmantraut (played by Jonathan Banks) tells Walter White (Bryan Cranston) a story about how he regretted not preventing a domestic abuser from killing his wife, despite Ehrmantraut arresting him multiple times, then threatening him one final time. Now obviously Breaking Bad isn’t the best depiction of how justice is served, but the point is straightforward, half measures are ineffective means of getting a job done, even if they appear to do the job.

Rob Manfred’s report on Astrogate was a half measure. By placing the blame squarely on the coaching staff under the incredibly vague and nebulous “encouraging the environment of cheating” and publicly outing Beltran as a co-conspirator without punishing him, Manfred indirectly put the onus on disciplining Beltran on the Mets, instead of handling it himself, like a commissioner should do.

Whether or not Manfred intended to push the responsibility of dealing with Beltran on the Mets, his actions were irresponsible, reckless, and unfair to an organization that had nothing to do with the scandal in the first place

Never mind that Beltran was no longer under the MLBPA’s protection, never mind that Manfred stated Beltran wouldn’t be disciplined, by publicly outing him, and only him as the only player on the report without punishing him, he essentially was saying to the Mets organization that they were now responsible for the Astros mess by association.

There’s a major hole in regards to the whole “no players would be disciplined” part of the punishment, because, at the time of its release, Beltran was one of three players on the 2017 championship team that were no longer playing. Brian McCann and Evan Gattis both had retired, and yet neither was listed on the report. Why was Beltran the only player listed on the report when there were more that were no longer playing?

The speculation is that Manfred was too afraid to go toe to toe with the MLB Players Association. With relations strained enough as it is and a lockout impending, obviously Manfred felt it was in his best interest to appease the union by not implicating any players despite evidence showing players cheating, see: Jose Altuve, Josh Reddick, and Alex Bregman allegedly wearing haptic bandages.

In outing Beltran without punishing him, Manfred essentially took the path of least resistance, making Beltran a scapegoat with the expectation that the court of public opinion would turn on Beltran. Basically, Manfred said to the public, “See, the players did do it, even though we can’t punish them we can point out they were involved in this!” In pushing the “promoting an environment” angle, Manfred could say that MLB at least did something to discourage cheating.

Ultimately, it was poorly handled. In naming Beltran, Manfred not only threw him under the bus but he had to have been aware he was putting the Mets in a bad position. He had to have known the heat would be taken off him if his punishment was viewed as too lenient, which depending on who you talk too, it’s either appropriate, or the Astros were let off easy. The collateral damage in getting the Mets involved in something that they weren’t a part of especially shows how feckless Manfred is as a commissioner.

Manfred’s best course of action would have been to actually punish the players or suspend or fine Beltran. In suspending the players, sure, the MLBPA would be geared up for a long and costly legal battle, and Tony Clark could use that as a means to not come to the negotiating table to hash out the post-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement, but Manfred would be effectively punishing those responsible for implementing and using the system. In suspending Beltran, Manfred would have saved the Mets the trouble of having to make a difficult decision with the league actually taking charge.

However, in Manfred’s book, the path of least resistance is the best path. He did something to send a message, never mind the collateral damage, never mind that more and more players are coming forward with accusations and turning this offseason into a perfect storm of mistrust. As long as people saw he at least made an effort to curb electronic sign stealing, he could say that he did the right thing, no matter the cost.

Carlos Beltran and The Media

Part of the blame for this lands on Beltran, but the media is just as responsible for crafting the narrative that led to Beltran’s firing. When the scandal broke, the media predictably asked Beltran about his role in the scandal, to which he lied.

For someone who played in New York for more than seven years and saw the rise of social media, Beltran’s decision to lie was incredibly dumb and shortsighted. Even if he was in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation where he would constantly be second-guessed because of his association with the Astros, Beltran could have easily said “No comment”.

By lying, Beltran invited the media to create an even bigger controversy. One where the Mets knowingly hired a liar and a cheat to run their team, one where the ethics of baseball were second to winning. Never mind that the team was a month and a half away from spring training, the prominent story would be how morally and competitively compromised the Mets were with Beltran as manager.

If there’s one thing to be said about the New York media, it’s that if they smell blood, they will attack. Beltran was the easy target in Astrogate because he was there and however big his role was, he had to know that he would inevitably be questioned.

Still, for the media to act as it did, with pearl-clutching and questions about integrity when the Mickey Callaway incident happened months earlier, one has to wonder how much of an angle they were going for with an Astrogate story

Even if it had amounted to nothing and Beltran had not been canned to save face, would the media have left the story alone? Or would they still pursue a narrative that because Beltran was part of a team accused of cheating, he was no longer trustworthy? Regardless of whether or not that narrative would have been produced, Beltran’s stupidity only served to stoke the flames and led to a major blow-up.

The Mets Organization

And last, but not least, we come to the Mets organization. Between Fred and Jeff Wilpon, Brodie Van Wagenen, and even Jessica Mendoza, the Mets organization completely bungled the situation with Beltran.

Van Wagenen insisted that the Mets heard the news about Astrogate from The Athletic, and while one can be skeptical as to whether or not it’s true, let’s play devil’s advocate and assume he was right. As the scandal grew far-reaching and ultimately was laid at Beltran’s feet, one had to wonder why the Mets didn’t immediately come to his defense?

Even if Wilpon or Van Wagenen had said something along the lines of “We are aware of the allegations concerning Beltran in Houston, however, we believe that they will not have any major bearing on him managing the Mets.” Instead, after a deliberative process the Wilpons and Van Wagenen, citing public perception and organizational integrity, let Beltran go.

The amount of hypocrisy in this is deafening. Keep in mind, this is the same Mets organization that fired an employee for having a child out of wedlock. This is the same organization whose owners were found guilty of knowingly defrauding investors in the Madoff Ponzi scheme. These are the same owners that have used the Mets as a means to pay off their debts to their creditors at the expense of the on-field product.

For the organization to suddenly care about public perception and integrity is incredibly disingenuous. Let’s remember that the “Fire Beltran” narrative came from the media, not the fanbase. Public mistrust in journalism further adds to the case that the Mets organization should not have fed the media’s bloodlust. However, Fred Wilpon values journalists and social opinions more than his paying customers.

In the end, LOLMets or That’s so Mets was going to happen either way. Keep Beltran, the narrative that the Mets didn’t care about the integrity of the game and hired a known cheater and liar persists, creating a distraction. Let Beltran go, the organization is perceived as spineless and willing to capitulate to media demands. There was no way the team was going to leave this cleanly, so for them to react the way they did was an absolute mishandling on their part.

So, who is to blame?

Ultimately, no one entity is entirely to blame. Major League Baseball and Rob Manfred should be lambasted by the Mets organization for putting them in a tough position, the Mets should be eviscerated for being incredibly hypocritical and weak-willed, the media should be criticized for creating a toxic narrative, and Beltran should be blamed for being a complete idiot.

Regardless of who you feel is deserving of the most blame, it boils down to one simple point: This should have never happened. Everyone involved should be ashamed of how much this has escalated and gotten completely out of control.

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If you’re a Mets fan, you have every right to be angry.