Ex-Mets manager betrayed team’s trust, his former player says

Willie Randolph’s time as Mets manager is looked upon fondly by many — except for some of his players.

In an appearance on the “Abriendo el Juego” podcast on Sunday, Carlos Beltrán recounted the moment he lost trust in Randolph, who once told his players that if they ever needed a day off, to just ask.

“Carlos Delgado’s wife had just given birth to his son, and they had a complicated night at the hospital. He didn’t sleep or anything,” Beltran said. “He tells me, ‘I’m dead, Carlos,’ before a day game, so I told him to go to Willie. He does. He says, ‘Willie, I’m dead.’

“When Willie releases the lineup and did his press availability, he is asked about Delgado not being in the lineup. [Randolph] said, ‘[Delgado] asked for the day off.’”

Beltrán couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Here was his teammate, having just spent the night with his wife in labor asking for a day off and the manager reported it back to the media without explanation?

“All you have to do is, say, ‘I decided to give him the day off.’ He deserved that. He plays every day,” Beltrán added.

Afterward, stories were reported that Delgado didn’t want to face the opposing pitcher. “I think it was a lefty,” Beltran remembered.

Who can blame them? Their job is to report on the Mets and one of their best players sits without explanation.

Beltrán simply filed that in his memory bank and promised himself never to do that should he land in the manager’s seat someday. From that moment on, he never asked Randolph for a day off. He just waited to be told to sit, and his teammates followed.

“Ask to see how many players went to Willie after that,’ Beltrán said. “Nobody. We could be falling apart.”

The Mets hired Randolph to be their manager in Nov. 2004. Under him, the team posted a 302-253 record with one postseason appearance, where they came within one game of making it to the World Series, in 2006.

In June 2008, Randolph was dismissed by…