Mets Drop Own Bomb: Coleman Is Finished

NEW YORK — Vince Coleman, facing a felony charge after throwing a powerful firecracker at fans, is finished with the New York Mets.

The Mets, fed up with an array of trouble this season, said Thursday the 31-year-old outfielder will not return to the club this season. Fred Wilpon, team president, went even further, vowing Coleman will never play for the Mets again.

Coleman will remain on “administrative leave”--in effect, suspended with pay--until his arraignment Oct. 8 in Los Angeles on a felony charge of possession of an explosive device.

Coleman still has one year left on a four-year, $12-million contract, but Wilpon did not say how the Mets will get rid of him after the season.

“We have the right to act--release him, trade him or fight him on the contract,” Wilpon said. “It’s in the best interest of the Mets that he never wear a Mets uniform again, even if he is cleared of the criminal offense. He’ll not play here again as a Met, with pay or without pay.”

The Mets have been beset by problems on and off the field in the worst season of the 32-year-old franchise.

Picked by some to contend for the NL East title, the Mets have the poorest record in the majors at 43-83 and are the only team to already have been mathematically eliminated from pennant contention.

Anthony Young’s 27-game losing streak, the firing of manager Jeff Torborg and injuries to Howard Johnson, Sid Fernandez and other key players have been among the lowlights.

But there has been just as much turmoil in the clubhouse. Bret Saberhagen admitted putting a firecracker under a table where reporters were interviewing Young; in a separate incident, Saberhagen admitted he sprayed bleach on writers.

Coleman contributed to the disarray when he swung a golf club and hit Dwight Gooden in the shoulder, knocking him out of a start.

But latest antics landed him in court. Prosecutors in Los Angeles said he threw an M-100, which has the equivalent power of a quarter-stick of dynamite, from a car as he left the Dodger Stadium parking lot on July 24. A 2-year-old girl was among three people injured. Coleman has said he will not contest the charge.

Coleman played three games after the incident, then left the team with permission Aug. 3.

Coleman’s arraignment in Los Angeles was postponed until after the season. Conviction carries a penalty ranging from probation to three years in prison.

“You have to act professionally on and off the field,” Met Manager Dallas Green said. “Fred made that clear today. Obviously, Coleman was a big part of the mix with all the problems. To put a team together, you have to have ‘we’ guys. That wasn’t Vince’s first goal.”

“Things didn’t happen overnight, and they’re not going to stop overnight. This will be the best cure to try and get the clubhouse back to some semblance of calmness.”

Earlier this week, the Mets met with representatives for Coleman, the players’ union, the owners’ Player Relations Committee and the ruling executive council.

Bud Selig, chairman of the executive council and the PRC, supported the Mets’ decision.