Former New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler will be suspended for the 2024 season for what Major League Baseball called “manipulation of injured list guidelines.”
Eppler will serve his suspension on the ineligible list. He won’t be able to work until after the 2024 World Series has concluded.
The manipulation included the discovery of fabricated injuries and submissions of false documentation during Eppler’s two seasons in charge.
One former Mets player who is having a hard time with the decision is Tommy Hunter, who played for the Mets from 2021-23.
Hunter played 16 years in the Majors and, from his point of view, Eppler did what every other general manager he played for did at one time or another.
“It’s crazy Billy got singled out,’’ Hunter told the New York Post. “It’s kind of mind-blowing ... It’s no secret what goes on, so to go after one person seems unfair.”
Hunter went on to say he felt bad for his former boss.
“I feel bad for Billy. … He didn’t do anything different than any other GM I’ve been around,” Hunter said.
Eppler resigned from the Mets due to the investigation and he was replaced by new president of baseball operations David Stearns. He hired new manager Carlos Mendoza.
As for Hunter, his career is complete as he retired after the 2023 season. He broke into the Majors in 2008 and he played for the Texas Rangers, the Baltimore Orioles, the Chicago Cubs, the Cleveland Guardians, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies — in case you’re wondering about the other “GM’s” he’s been around.
More must-reads: