"The Mets organization does not condone the behavior that took place yesterday," Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen told reporters.

Mets fine, but do not suspend, Mickey Callaway, Jason Vargas after incident with reporter


The Mets fined Mickey Callaway and Jason Vargas after both were involved in a heated exchange with a reporter in the clubhouse after Sunday's game. No suspensions were issued.

"The Mets organization does not condone the behavior that took place (Sunday)," Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen told reporters Monday. "We are committed to trying to create a healthy work environment for everybody that works in the game. … The altercation was disappointing. It was regrettable on many levels."

The incident took place after New York blew a late lead and fell to the Cubs, 5-3, at Wrigley Field. Callaway cursed out Newsday's Tim Healey following the loss and requested he leave the clubhouse. Vargas then stared down the same reporter and words were exchanged. Vargas also said he’d “knock him out,” according to Yahoo Sports.

No punches were thrown, but Vargas reportedly “charged” at Healey and had to be restrained by Carlos Gomez and Noah Syndergaard.

The reporter left the locker room shortly after. He said the incident started after he said "see you tomorrow" to Callaway.

“I can always control my reaction to those things," Callaway told reporters Monday. "I think everybody deserves respect, regardless of job title and role. I hope people can understand that this is a tough game, played by passionate competitors and I hope moving forward that we can all do our jobs, honestly, critically and understanding other people are involved."

The Mets apologized for the incident in a statement and Callaway said he spoke with Healey privately before Monday's game against the Phillies. The reporter also said he received an apology call from Mets COO Jeff Wilpon late Sunday. 

“It was a misunderstanding, obviously, for things like that to happen," Callaway said. "It’s always a misunderstanding. I’m sure there was no malintent by either (side). It’s just something that happened, and we have to move forward.”

Vargas, 36, signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the Mets in February 2018. He called the incident an "unfortunate distraction" and declined to take questions from reporters Monday.

Callaway is in his second year with the Mets, as well.