Tony Bernazard Challenges Binghamton Mets to Fight

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WASHINGTON – The Binghamton Mets clubhouse nearly turned into a scene out of WWE Raw recently, when VP for player development Tony Bernazard removed his shirt and challenged the Double-A players to a fight during a postgame tirade, multiples said.

Bernazard particularly went after middle infield prospect Jose Coronado, using a slang term associated with a woman’s anatomy, a source indicated. The confrontation happened about 10days before the All-Star break, according to insiders.

“That’s an all-timer if true,” an AL official said upon hearing the account, which was corroborated by multiple people with ties to the Mets.

GM Omar Minaya acknowledged Bernazard spoke to the B-Mets in a “stern voice,” but said he had no knowledge of the scope being portrayed.

“I know he did have a team meeting with them,” Minaya told the Daily News. “It was not a ‘you-guys-have-been-great meeting.’ I know he spoke to them in a stern voice. But as far as what he was wearing, what kind of shoes he was wearing, I don’t know anything about that.”

While the 52-year-old Bernazard’s actions were over-the-top no matter what the motivation, alleged underage drinking on the team apparently was one motivation for the eruption, an organization source said. Still, sending players to counseling rather than challenging them to a rumble might have been a more appropriate course of action.

Binghamton went 1-6 during an early July home stand against New Hampshire and Erie that coincided with that tumult. Three of the defeats came by at least seven runs. The team’s longtime Double-A affiliate entered last night with a 36-58 record, in last place in the Eastern League’s Northern Division.

“It’s ridiculous that anyone in a professional baseball environment thinks it’s acceptable,” a friend of several B-Mets said about the treatment of the players.

The shoddy treatment of people in the system has led to mocking of the VP behind his back.

The News reported Tuesday that Bernazard, one of GM Omar Minaya’s top lieutenants, recently erupted at the organization’s manager of baseball operations. During a game at Citi Field, scouts took their customary seats in a row behind home plate. Bernazard showed up during play and wanted a seat occupied by a D-Backs scout. Bernazard’s deputy, already seated in the row, suggested to the Mets VP that he wait until the half-inning ended, to minimize the disruption. Bernazard ripped into his deputy with a profanity-laced tirade as scouts and patrons watched in disbelief.

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