Antonio Bernazard Garcia (born August 24, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball player and former executive in the New York Mets organization. Bernazard served as an assistant to Mets general managerOmar Minaya before being dismissed on July 27, 2009.
Bernazard missed out on the Chicago White Sox divisional pennant run of 1983 when he was traded to the Mariners for second baseman Julio Cruz on June 15 of that year.[1] The speedier Cruz helped spur the Sox to win the division by 20 games.
In 1984 with the Indians, he went through an 0-for-44 stretch at the plate, tying a major league hitless streak for non-pitchers in the last 50 years. He hit only .221 that year. He rebounded to have two productive seasons with the Indians, batting .274 in 1985 and a career-high .301 in 1986, while also hitting 17 home runs. Inexplicably, Topps pictured Bernazard as an American League All Star in its 1987 set (card number 607) though Bernazard was not named to the American League All Star Team in 1986 or any other season.
From 1988–1990, he played for the Nankai/Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (now the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks) in the Japanese Pacific League. After a brief major league comeback in 1991 with the Tigers, in which he went 2-for-12 in six games, his career was over.
Front office career
Bernazard became the vice president of development for the New York Mets in December 2004 after serving as a special assistant to general manager Omar Minaya.
During the 2004 off-season, then-free agent first baseman Carlos Delgado was offended when Bernazard—a fellow Puerto Rican—attempted to gain an advantage in wooing Delgado to the Mets by utilizing what Delgado termed "street Spanish."[2] Delgado was heavily critical in public of the Mets negotiating tactics. He reportedly referred to Bernazard as "the highest-paid translator on the planet"[2] after meeting him and Minaya for a face-to-face negotiating session at baseball's Winter Meetings. Bernazard, who was known for his flamboyant antics around the Mets offices and Shea Stadium, downplayed the incident.
Bernazard came under scrutiny again during the 2008 season, when it was reported that he was allegedly the person who orchestrated the firing of then Mets managerWillie Randolph.[3] Bernazard came under renewed scrutiny in late July during the 2009 season after removing his shirt and challenging several Binghamton Mets players to fights. The same week Bernazard had another tirade at Citi Field when a Diamondbacks scout occupied a seat that he wanted and one of his deputies suggested to him that he wait until the end of the half inning, prompting Bernazard to become angry.[4] In addition, Bernazard had an angry confrontation with Mets closerFrancisco Rodríguez on the team bus, while returning to the team's hotel after an 11–0 loss to the Atlanta Braves.[5]
The Mets organization issued a statement by general manager Minaya saying, in part, "I spoke with Tony [Bernazard] this morning and informed him of my decision to terminate his employment with the Mets", confirming an earlier report.[6] At the press conference announcing the firing, Minaya angrily challenged the accuracy of past news reports, claiming that New York Daily News reporter Adam Rubin, who initially broke the story about Bernazard challenging Binghamton Mets players to a fight, was angling for a position in the Mets organization, a claim Rubin denied.[7] Omar Minaya fired Bernazard from the Mets on Monday July 27, 2009.
Post-Mets career
In October 2009, Adam Rubin reported in his blog that Bernazard was close to joining the renowned sports agency Boras Corp., led by baseball super agent Scott Boras.[8] Bernazard later denied this in an interview with FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.[9] In the interview (dated April 27, 2010), Bernazard claimed that the media reports about his behavior were untrue. He also claimed that the Mets organization did not support him because the team needed a scapegoat for the 2009 season. As far as his career was concerned, Bernazard was not employed by a baseball team at that time, despite the fact that Bernazard claims he "had some calls" from unspecified sources at the end of December 2009. He additionally claimed that he "[hasn't] been looking for a job."
^ abRubin, Adam (2006). Pedro, Carlos, and Omar: The Story ...ISBN9781592288755. Retrieved August 27, 2010 – via Google Books.
^Shpigel, Ben (June 19, 2008). "Bernazard Finds Himself in Middle of Mets' Turmoil". The New York Times.
^Rubin, Adam (July 22, 2009). "Sources: Mets VP for player development Tony Bernazard challenges Binghamton Mets to fight". New York: Nydailynews.com. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
^Shpigel, Ben (July 24, 2009). "Witnesses Confirm Bernazard Bus Incident". The New York Times.
^Sherman, Joel (July 27, 2009). . Blogs.nypost.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
^Shpigel, Ben (July 28, 2009). "Minaya Fires Executive and Blames a Reporter". The New York Times.
^Martino, Andy (October 18, 2009). . New York: Nydailynews.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
^"Bernazard on the Mets and his firing". Msn.foxsports.com. April 27, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
March 14, 2023
tony, bernazard, antonio, bernazard, garcia, born, august, 1956, former, major, league, baseball, player, former, executive, york, mets, organization, bernazard, served, assistant, mets, general, manager, omar, minaya, before, being, dismissed, july, 2009, sec. Antonio Bernazard Garcia born August 24 1956 is a former Major League Baseball player and former executive in the New York Mets organization Bernazard served as an assistant to Mets general manager Omar Minaya before being dismissed on July 27 2009 Tony BernazardSecond basemanBorn 1956 08 24 August 24 1956 age 66 Caguas Puerto RicoBatted SwitchThrew RightProfessional debutMLB July 13 1979 for the Montreal ExposNPB April 9 1988 for the Nankai HawksLast appearanceNPB August 8 1990 for the Fukuoka Daiei HawksMLB April 26 1991 for the Detroit TigersMLB statisticsBatting average 262Home runs75Runs batted in391NPB statisticsBatting average 289Home runs67Runs batted in193TeamsMontreal Expos 1979 1980 Chicago White Sox 1981 1983 Seattle Mariners 1983 Cleveland Indians 1984 1987 Oakland Athletics 1987 Nankai Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 1988 1990 Detroit Tigers 1991 Contents 1 Playing career 2 Front office career 3 Post Mets career 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksPlaying career EditDuring his ten year major league career Bernazard played second base shortstop and designated hitter for the Montreal Expos Chicago White Sox Seattle Mariners Cleveland Indians Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers He hit 75 home runs in 3 700 at bats with 523 runs 177 doubles 30 triples 391 RBI 113 stolen bases and 428 bases on balls His career hitting line BA OBP SLG stands at 262 339 387 Bernazard missed out on the Chicago White Sox divisional pennant run of 1983 when he was traded to the Mariners for second baseman Julio Cruz on June 15 of that year 1 The speedier Cruz helped spur the Sox to win the division by 20 games In 1984 with the Indians he went through an 0 for 44 stretch at the plate tying a major league hitless streak for non pitchers in the last 50 years He hit only 221 that year He rebounded to have two productive seasons with the Indians batting 274 in 1985 and a career high 301 in 1986 while also hitting 17 home runs Inexplicably Topps pictured Bernazard as an American League All Star in its 1987 set card number 607 though Bernazard was not named to the American League All Star Team in 1986 or any other season From 1988 1990 he played for the Nankai Fukuoka Daiei Hawks now the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the Japanese Pacific League After a brief major league comeback in 1991 with the Tigers in which he went 2 for 12 in six games his career was over Front office career EditBernazard became the vice president of development for the New York Mets in December 2004 after serving as a special assistant to general manager Omar Minaya During the 2004 off season then free agent first baseman Carlos Delgado was offended when Bernazard a fellow Puerto Rican attempted to gain an advantage in wooing Delgado to the Mets by utilizing what Delgado termed street Spanish 2 Delgado was heavily critical in public of the Mets negotiating tactics He reportedly referred to Bernazard as the highest paid translator on the planet 2 after meeting him and Minaya for a face to face negotiating session at baseball s Winter Meetings Bernazard who was known for his flamboyant antics around the Mets offices and Shea Stadium downplayed the incident Bernazard came under scrutiny again during the 2008 season when it was reported that he was allegedly the person who orchestrated the firing of then Mets manager Willie Randolph 3 Bernazard came under renewed scrutiny in late July during the 2009 season after removing his shirt and challenging several Binghamton Mets players to fights The same week Bernazard had another tirade at Citi Field when a Diamondbacks scout occupied a seat that he wanted and one of his deputies suggested to him that he wait until the end of the half inning prompting Bernazard to become angry 4 In addition Bernazard had an angry confrontation with Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez on the team bus while returning to the team s hotel after an 11 0 loss to the Atlanta Braves 5 The Mets organization issued a statement by general manager Minaya saying in part I spoke with Tony Bernazard this morning and informed him of my decision to terminate his employment with the Mets confirming an earlier report 6 At the press conference announcing the firing Minaya angrily challenged the accuracy of past news reports claiming that New York Daily News reporter Adam Rubin who initially broke the story about Bernazard challenging Binghamton Mets players to a fight was angling for a position in the Mets organization a claim Rubin denied 7 Omar Minaya fired Bernazard from the Mets on Monday July 27 2009 Post Mets career EditIn October 2009 Adam Rubin reported in his blog that Bernazard was close to joining the renowned sports agency Boras Corp led by baseball super agent Scott Boras 8 Bernazard later denied this in an interview with FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal 9 In the interview dated April 27 2010 Bernazard claimed that the media reports about his behavior were untrue He also claimed that the Mets organization did not support him because the team needed a scapegoat for the 2009 season As far as his career was concerned Bernazard was not employed by a baseball team at that time despite the fact that Bernazard claims he had some calls from unspecified sources at the end of December 2009 He additionally claimed that he hasn t been looking for a job See also EditList of Major League Baseball players from Puerto RicoReferences Edit Sox deal Bernazard to Mariners a b Rubin Adam 2006 Pedro Carlos and Omar The Story ISBN 9781592288755 Retrieved August 27 2010 via Google Books Shpigel Ben June 19 2008 Bernazard Finds Himself in Middle of Mets Turmoil The New York Times Rubin Adam July 22 2009 Sources Mets VP for player development Tony Bernazard challenges Binghamton Mets to fight New York Nydailynews com Retrieved August 27 2010 Shpigel Ben July 24 2009 Witnesses Confirm Bernazard Bus Incident The New York Times Sherman Joel July 27 2009 Bernazard Fired Blogs nypost com Archived from the original on August 29 2009 Retrieved August 27 2010 Shpigel Ben July 28 2009 Minaya Fires Executive and Blames a Reporter The New York Times Martino Andy October 18 2009 New employers for ex Mets staffers New York Nydailynews com Archived from the original on October 21 2009 Retrieved August 27 2010 Bernazard on the Mets and his firing Msn foxsports com April 27 2010 Retrieved August 27 2010 External links Edit Biography portal Baseball portal Puerto Rico portalCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or Baseball Reference Minors Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tony Bernazard amp oldid 1125367955, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
