Phil Regan, an MLB veteran and former pitching coach for the New York Mets, has sued his former employers for age discrimination, according to TMZ Sports.
Regan served as the Mets’ interim pitching coach in June 2019. He was 82 years old at the time. According to Regan’s suit, then-Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen told him that he would not be retained in the role of pitching coach because he was “too old.”
Regan also claims that Van Wagenen told him, “If we don’t find the young pitching coach we are looking for, we will hire you back.”
Phil Regan #58 of the New York Mets in the dugout in a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 22, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois. (David Banks/Getty Images)
The Mets eventually hired the 33-year-old Jeremy Hefner to replace Regan.
“Phil is the first to crack jokes about his age,” Regan’s attorney Matthew Blit said in a statement to TMZ Sports, “however there is nothing funny about a person being told that they are being passed over because their employer wants someone younger. That’s discrimination, plain and simple.”
The Mets went 86-76 during the 2019 season. As for his charges, the pitching staff, Regan’s hurlers posted a team ERA of 3.52, and his starters posted a respectable 3.06 ERA, the New York Post reports.
Pitching coach Phil Regan #58 of the New York Mets runs back to the dugout during the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on Friday, June 28, 2019, in the Queens borough of New York City. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Regan wasn’t the only coach let go at the end of that campaign. Manager Mickey Callaway was fired at the end of the season.
Now, at 85 years old, TMZ Sports reports that Regan is suing for unspecified damages.
The Mets have yet to comment on the suit.