The New York Mets are being sued for allegedly discriminating against former pitching coach Phil Regan for his age.
The now 85-year-old, nicknamed “The Vulture,” claimed in a lawsuit that the pitching staff including Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler all got better after he took over during the 2019 season.
However, Regan was not brought back.
At the time Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen admitted to Regan that he was “too old,” according to the complaint filed by attorney Matthew Blit.
Yet, Van Wagenen hired him as interim pitching coach to replace Dave Eiland.
“If we don’t find the young pitching coach we are looking for, we will hire you back,” Van Wagenen said, the details of the lawsuit claim.
That young pitching coach turned out to be 33-year-old Jeremy Hefner, who is still employed with the organization.
Regan was a former MLB player from 1960 to 1972 who played 12 seasons with multiple teams including the Detroit Tigers.
As a pitcher out of the bullpen, he posted a 3.84 earned run average (ERA) in his career with more than 1,300 innings pitched.
After his pitching career, Regan had several pitching coach stints and managed the Baltimore Orioles in 1995.
After billionaire and hedge fund manager Steve Cohen took over as new Mets owner, Van Wagenen was fired after failing to qualify for the playoffs in each of his first two seasons.
Currently, Billy Eppler serves as the Mets’ GM.
The Mets have yet to comment publicly on the matter.
