New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway fired after 2 years on the job

Mike Callaway. — (Image credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

The New York Mets have fired manager Mickey Callaway after two years on the job, ESPN reports.

Callaway, formerly the Cleveland Indians' pitching coach, was hired in 2017 to steer the pitching-rich Mets back to the postseason after a typically underwhelming 70-win campaign. Instead, the club went 77-85 in Callaway's first season, and followed that with an 86-76 2019. That season, despite the excellence of Jacob deGrom, Pete Alonso, and Jeff McNeil, may be equally remembered for a horrid bullpen, the threatening of a beat reporter, and a chair thrown in anger by general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.

In a statement Thursday, Van Wagenen — himself only one year into his tenure — said, "We want to thank Mickey for his consistent work ethic and dedication over the last two seasons, and I'm certain these characteristics will serve him well in his next opportunity." Humbling words for the brash Van Wagenen, who in January called the Mets "a team to be reckoned with" and dared the National League East to "come get us." It did — and while the division-rival Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals play October baseball, Callaway must now hope there's a team out there who wants to come get him.

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Jacob Lambert is the art director of TheWeek.com. He was previously an editor at MAD magazine, and has written and illustrated for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Weekly, and The Millions.