On WFAN: Mookie Wilson Discusses Beef With Mets And More
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Mookie Wilson is still looking for answers from the New York Mets.
Specifically, why was he fired as first base coach after the 2011 season?
Wilson stopped by the WFAN studios on Wednesday morning to talk about his beef with the team that still cuts him a paycheck -- albeit a much, much smaller one -- as an ambassador and roving instructor.
"I have absolutely no idea (why I was canned)," Wilson said Wednesday on WFAN's "Boomer & Carton" show. "But let's be honest here: coaches come and go. Do they have to give an explanation? Maybe not. Some people feel that they maybe deserve an explanation, and I just happen to be one of those guys."
Mookie Wilson
It's all aired out in his new book, "Mookie: Life, Baseball and the '86 Mets," including the line that garnered so much attention last week -- "I have basically become a hood ornament."
Wilson said he had no clue he was on the chopping block when he got the call from general manager Sandy Alderson, whose regime he criticized in the book.
"Just because I don't have the job I want, (it) doesn't mean that I can't enjoy what I'm doing," Wilson said.
The 58-year-old signed on in 2012 to serve in a dual role with the Mets. But it sounds like the club has Mookie giving a lot more face time to the media than their minor league players.
"Let's put it this way: my title is ambassador, not roving instructor," Wilson said. "I do go to the minor leaguers for three days per team, per year."
Wilson closed out the wide-ranging interview with a rapid-fire session and some word association:
-- Gay teammate -- accepted or not accepted in the Mets clubhouse?
"Accepted."
-- Could you have played for Donald Sterling?
"Hard. ... Not if I had (a) choice."
-- Bill Buckner?
"Great."
-- Mike Scott?
"Oooooh! ... Uhhhhh! ... You only cheat if you get caught."
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