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Mets' Jason Vargas: 'All the Info Wasn't Out There' After Threatening Reporter
June 27, 2019
Following his first outing since the incident, New York Mets pitcher Jason Vargas further addressed a clubhouse confrontation he was involved in with Newsday's Tim Healey on Sunday.
"It was an unfortunate confrontation," Vargas said after Wednesday night's game. "I don't think all the information was really out there. I don't think that this is a time to get into that. But I think that anybody that knows me or anybody that's played with me...there's never been a situation like that. So to think that it just happened out of the blue would be foolish."
Vargas would go on to say: "It's over. Our organization made a statement. We put an end to it. But I think it's pretty obvious that all the info wasn't out there."
Vargas previously spoke on the matter on Monday, calling it an "unfortunate distraction":
In an interview with Newsday colleague David Lennon, Healey said the incident began after he said "See you tomorrow, Mickey" to Mets manager Mickey Callaway following the team's 5-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 23.
Callaway—who later said it was a "misunderstanding"—reportedly responded by telling the reporter, "Don't be a smart ass," among other things. Their verbal exchange caught the attention of a nearby Vargas, who proceeded to get involved.
"He said, 'I'll knock you out right here' and then took a couple of steps toward me," Healey told Lennon of Vargas. "Some people said charged—charged is super-strong."
New York chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon subsequently called Healey to apologize on behalf of the organization.
Callaway and Vargas were each fined for their roles in the incident, though no further discipline was handed down.
Callaway declined to tell his side to reporters Monday, saying that "that doesn't help me in any way." The 44-year-old skipper revealed he had talked to Healey in private and that they had put the matter behind them.
In his first start since the confrontation, the 36-year-old Vargas tied a career high with 10 strikeouts, allowing two runs on three hits in 6.1 innings of work. His effort was wasted, though, as New York fell 5-4, with ex-Met Jay Bruce walking it off against his former team with a 10th-inning RBI double.