As if the Mets have not gone through enough controversy the past few years.
The Mets have had to deal with the Adam Rubin vs. Omar Minaya incident as well as the incident where former VP of player development Tony Bernazard ripped his shirt off and challenged a minor leaguer to a fight.
This year, the Mets have already had to deal with the K-Rod incident in which he fought his girlfriend’s father in the clubhouse. Now, it has come out that the Mets had other issues within their clubhouse.
According to a person familiar with the recent NYPD investigation, Samuels admitted on at least one occasion that he bet on baseball.
It is believed that most of Samuels’ bets were on NFL games, but it is still unnerving to know that he was part of an illegal gambling ring and that he bet on baseball.
Another source close to the investigation said that it is possible that Samuels made unauthorized withdrawals from Mets accounts and then later paid the money back.
There are also questions about Samuels relationships with the Mets players. It was revealed that Samuels received a $50,000 tip from Jeff Francoeur when he was traded to the Rangers.
While this does seem unusual, there have been examples of other players, such as Manny Ramirez, leaving generous tips for clubhouse attendants.
Samuels also reportedly received a Lexus from Mike Piazza after winning a bet with him about how much weight Piazza’s father could lose.
The last incident that has been reported that involved a player featured Francisco Rodriguez. Samuels gave K-Rod a place to stay after he was ordered to stay away from his home following the fight with his girlfriend’s father.
While this very well maybe the case of Samuels being a good friend, one must still be suspicious. Rodriguez has more than enough money to rent a house, apartment or hotel room.
If Samuels bet on the Mets, he was now with the person who had a lot of control over how a close game could end.
There are also reports that Samuels may have gave out inside information about the players to members of the mob.
Samuels, the Mets clubhouse manager and traveling secretary for 27 years, has been suspended indefinitely as a result of the investigation.
This is certainly not the way that the Mets wanted to start the Sandy Alderson era. This will be a black mark on the organization and could be a distraction during the season depending on how long the investigation lasts.
Both current and former players will be questioned and some could be involved in the gambling ring. Hopefully, no players will be indicted when all of the dust settles.
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