Mickey Callaway accused of unwanted advances toward female media while with Cleveland, Mets, Angels

Five women who work in sports media claim Angels pitching coach Mickey Callaway sexually harassed them over a five-year period that included his tenure as Mets manager.

Callaway repeatedly made unwanted advances and sent lewd text messages, the women told The Athletic. He allegedly engaged in this behavior when he was the pitching coach in Cleveland, the manager in New York and a member of the coaching staff in Anaheim, where he currently works, from 2015 to 2020.

One of the media members making the allegations told The Athletic that Callaway’s alleged behavior was the “worst-kept secret in baseball.” 

Callaway told The Athletic: “Any relationship in which I was engaged has been consensual, and my conduct was in no way intended to be disrespectful to any women involved. I am married and my wife has been made aware of these general allegations.”

Cleveland, the Mets, the Angels and MLB all responded to The Athletic’s report as well.

Cleveland said that it was unaware until now of any of what is being alleged and would conduct an internal review in consultation with MLB. The Mets said that in 2018, they investigated an alleged incident that took place before they hired Callaway as manager. They offered no additional details. New York fired Callaway after the 2019 season when the team finished 86-76.

The Angels said they would begin an investigation with MLB, which said it “has never been notified of any allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior by Mickey Callaway.”

Among the more graphic allegations against Callaway: One of the reporters who spoke to The Athletic said that he put his leg on a railing and moved his crotch near her face during a one-on-one interview in his first spring training with the Mets.

“I knew right away this is what I would be dealing with,” the reporter was quoted as saying. “I got warned he was gross (beforehand).”

Reporters also claimed that Callaway sent them photos of him posing shirtless.

The Athletic published the women’s claims about two weeks after the Mets fired first-year general manager Jared Porter for similar actions. A female former media member told ESPN in 2017 that Porter sent her dozens of text messages, many of them explicit, in 2016 when he was the Cubs’ director of professional scouting. ESPN said it ran with the story only after the media member gave her consent following Porter’s hiring by the Mets.

Porter gave admissions to ESPN and Mets team president Sandy Alderson after the report was published. Alderson, who also hired Callaway, and Mets majority owner Steve Cohen decided to terminate Porter on Jan. 16.

Alderson told The New York Times in a statement Monday that he “was unaware of the conduct described in the story at the time of Mickey’s hire or at any time during my tenure as general manager.” Alderson added that the Mets will begin a review of their “hiring processes.”

Cohen, in a separate statement to the Times, called Callaway’s alleged actions “unacceptable” and that they “would never be tolerated under my ownership.”

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