Mickey Callaway

Michael Christopher Callaway (born May 13, 1975) is an American professional baseball coach and former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Anaheim Angels, and Texas Rangers and in the KBO League for the Hyundai Unicorns. He was the manager of the New York Mets from 2018 through 2019 and coach for the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels.

Mickey Callaway
Callaway with the Mets in 2019
Pitcher / Manager / Pitching coach
Born: (1975-05-13) May 13, 1975
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Professional debut
MLB: June 12, 1999, for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
KBO: April 3, 2005, for the Hyundai Unicorns
CPBL: April 2, 2009, for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
Last appearance
MLB: August 21, 2004, for the Texas Rangers
KBO: June 6, 2007, for the Hyundai Unicorns
CPBL: June 28, 2009, for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
MLB statistics
Win–loss record4–11
Earned run average6.27
Strikeouts86
Managerial record163–161
Winning %.503
KBO statistics
Win–loss record32–22
Earned run average3.56
Strikeouts222
CPBL statistics
Win–loss record7–3
Earned run average3.18
Strikeouts42
Teams
As player

As coach

As manager

Career highlights and awards

On May 26, 2021, following an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment spanning much of his career as a manager and coach, Callaway was banned from Major League Baseball through at least the end of the 2022 season.[1]

Early life

Callaway attended Germantown High School in Germantown, Tennessee, where he played baseball and basketball. [2] Callaway was drafted out of high school in the 16th round of the 1993 Major League Baseball Draft by the San Francisco Giants but did not sign.[3] Callaway attended the University of Mississippi, where he played college baseball for the Ole Miss Rebels.

Professional career

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected Callaway in the seventh round of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft. Callaway made his major league debut in 1999 with the Devil Rays. In his debut, he pitched 6 innings for the win and went 2-for-3 with a run batted in. The Devil Rays traded Callaway to the Anaheim Angels for minor leaguer Wilmy Caceres before the 2002 season.[4] He was the Angels fifth starter at the end of the 2002 season when Aaron Sele went down with a shoulder injury. He pitched well down the stretch and earned a World Series ring with the Angels, though he did not appear in any postseason games. He was released by the Angels and then subsequently signed by the Texas Rangers at the end of 2003, and finished his Major League career with them in 2004. After the 2004 season, he played in Asia. From 2005 to 2007, he played for the Hyundai Unicorns in the KBO League where he was a two-time league All-Star.

In 2005 and 2006, he combined for a total of 30 wins (16–9 in 2005 and 14–7 in 2006). After being sidelined by an elbow injury in 2007, Callaway served as the interim Head Coach of Texas A&M International University[5] in 2008. In the 2008–2009 off-season, he signed with the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, and won his final start to clinch a play-off berth for the team.

Coaching career
Callaway with the Lake County Captains in 2010

In 2008, Callaway signed with the Laredo Broncos of independent United League Baseball as a player-pitching coach.[6] It would be his last season as a player.[7]

Callaway joined the Cleveland Indians organization in 2010 as the pitching coach for the minor league Lake County Captains, champions of the Midwest League. In 2011, he was the pitching coach for the Carolina League runner-up Kinston Indians.

Callaway became the pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians prior to the 2013 season. In the 2016 World Series, the Indians were defeated by the Cubs in 7 games. Indians manager Terry Francona said Callaway was the reason they went to the World Series. The Indians produced a Cy Young Award winner in 2014 in Corey Kluber.[8] In 2017, the Indians won an AL-best 102 games, but were defeated by the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series.[9] The Indians led the major leagues in both ERA (3.30) and in pitching strikeouts (1,614). It was the fourth consecutive season they led the American League in strikeouts.[10] The club led MLB in curveball usage in Callaway's time as pitching coach.[11]

Callaway was hired by the Los Angeles Angels to be their pitching coach prior to the 2020 season.[12] He was suspended pending an investigation into sexual harassment allegations dating to his time as a coach in Cleveland,[13] and fired soon after MLB banned him from the game for at least two years.[1]

Managerial career

New York Mets

On October 23, 2017, Callaway was named the manager of the New York Mets. He replaced Terry Collins, who retired at the end of the 2017 season.[11] In his first twelve games, he helped set a franchise record for the best start in club history at 11–1.[14] However, he finished the 2018 season with a disappointing record of 77 wins and 85 losses, failing to reach the postseason.[15] He was ejected from a game for the first time in his Major League career on June 12, 2018, for arguing with umpire Stu Scheurwater.[16] Callaway was fined by the Mets after a verbal altercation with a reporter after the Mets' 5–3 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, June 23, 2019.[17] The Mets finished with an 86–76 record in 2019, unable to secure a playoff spot. The Mets fired Callaway on October 3, 2019.[18]

Acereros de Monclova

On October 6, 2021, Callaway was hired by the Acereros de Monclova to manage their winter league developmental team.[19] In the league's inaugural season, he led the team to a championship, defeating the Pericos de Puebla in the Serie del Príncipe.[20] Callaway was later retained by the organization to manage their summer league club, who compete in the Mexican League (LMB), for the 2022 season.[21] However, he was fired by the team on May 30, 2022, after they started the season with a 16–17 record.[22] He was replaced by Matías Carrillo.[23] In early 2023, Callaway was announced as the team's pitching coach.[24], but was not on the Opening Day roster and later cut ties with the organization.

Managerial record
As of games played on September 28, 2019. [25]
TeamYearRegular seasonPostseason
GamesWonLostWin %FinishWonLostWin %Result
NYM2018 1627785.4754th in NL East––––
NYM2019 1628676.5313rd in NL East––––
Total324163161.50300.000

Sexual harassment allegations

On February 1, 2021, The Athletic released an article that detailed allegations of five women against Callaway's "lewd behavior", including sending inappropriate photographs. The allegations spanned five years and three teams.[26] An investigation was launched by MLB the following day. The Angels also announced that Callaway would be suspended while the investigation takes place.[13]

On March 2, 2021, a new report from The Athletic indicated that Cleveland Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and Indians manager Terry Francona were aware of Callaway's behavior and even discussed it with him at some point. Both defended him on multiple occasions to an angry husband who called in to tell the organization about Callaway harassing his wife. A Cleveland-based attorney brought in by the organization had offered to have Francona call the husband as some way of making amends.[27]

On May 26, 2021, Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that his office's investigation concluded that Callaway had violated MLB policies on harassment. Manfred placed Callaway on MLB's ineligible list. He is eligible to apply for reinstatement as of the end of the 2022 season.[1]

References
  1. R. J. Anderson (May 26, 2021). "Mickey Callaway placed on MLB ineligible list through 2022 season following sexual harassment investigation". CBS Sports.
  2. Varlas, John (September 17, 2017). "Germantown grad the architect of red-hot Cleveland's pitching success". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  3. "Mickey Callaway Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  4. "Callaway Makes a Striking Return". Los Angeles Times. August 26, 2002.
  5. "Callaway Takes TAMIU Baseball Position". GoDustdevils.com. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  6. "Former Major Leaguer Mickey Callaway Joins the Laredo Broncos – OurSports Central". www.oursportscentral.com. June 2, 2008. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  7. "Mickey Callaway Minor, Korean & Independent Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  8. Draper, Kevin (November 12, 2014). "Clayton Kershaw And Corey Kluber Are Your Cy Young Winners". Deadspin. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  9. Waldstein, David (October 12, 2017). "What happened to the Cleveland Indians?". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  10. Adler, David (October 22, 2017). "Source: Mets to name Callaway manager". MLB.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  11. DiComo, Anthony (October 23, 2017). "Mets name Mickey Callaway manager". New York Mets. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  12. Fischer, Mark (October 26, 2019). "Ex-Mets manager Mickey Callaway lands with Angels". Nypost.com. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  13. Davidoff, Ken (February 2, 2021). "MLB investigating Mickey Callaway's alleged sexual harassment". New York Post.
  14. Surovich, Linda (April 11, 2018). "Mets vs. Marlins Recap: Let the good times roll! – Amazin' Avenue". Amazinavenue.com. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  15. "Mickey Callaway". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  16. Ackert, Kristie (June 12, 2018). "Mets manager Mickey Callaway receives first career ejection". Daily News. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  17. Cwik, Chris (June 24, 2019). "Mets fine Mickey Callaway and Jason Vargas for altercation with reporter". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  18. Britton, Tim. "Tweet from Tim Britton announcing Mets firing of Mickey Callaway". Twitter and The Athletic. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  19. Ben Pickman (October 7, 2021). "Mickey Callaway Hired by Mexican Winter League Team". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  20. "LAS PALABRAS SOBRAN: ¡ACEREROS ES CAMPÉON DE LA LIGA INVERNAL MEXICANA!". acereros.com.mx (in Spanish). December 11, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  21. Kroeger, Garrett (January 6, 2022). "Acereros de Monclova plan to hire Mickey Callaway as summer season manager". Laredo Morning Times. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  22. "Acereros da las gracias al Sr. Mickey Callaway". acereros.com.mx (in Spanish). May 30, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  23. "LMB: Matías Carrillo es nuevo manager de Acereros de Monclova". Séptima Entrada (in Spanish). May 31, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  24. "ACEREROS ESTÁ EN PRETEMPORADA Y ANUNCIA CUERPO TÉCNICO COMPLETO". acereros.com.mx (in Spanish). March 4, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  25. "Mickey Callaway Managerial Record". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  26. Strang, Brittany Ghiroli and Katie. "Five women accuse Mickey Callaway of lewd behavior: 'He was completely unrelenting'". The Athletic.
  27. Lyons, Matt (March 2, 2021). "New report alleges Terry Francona, Chris Antonetti knew about Mickey Callaway's behavior". MSN. Retrieved March 2, 2021.

Further reading
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