Nightengale hits a rare sour note with false tweet: Bauer to Mets

Bob Nightengale is one of the most reliable of baseball writers.  No one is more connected.  For more than two decades he’s held the MLB beat for USA Today.  But on Thursday night he committed one of the cardinal sins of journalism when he reported, falsely, that Trevor Bauer, the reigning Cy Young Award winner, “had a deal” with the New York Mets.  It was a Dewey Defeats Truman moment.

Hundreds of news outlets, including this one, relayed the false story.  The following morning, Bauer announced, via Youtube video, that he was about to sign a contract not with the Mets but with the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

So Nightengale had to backtrack:

“Trevor Bauer does a 180, and leaves the #Mets and money at the altar, signing with the #Dodgers.  (@BNightengale) February 5, 2021.”

The misdirection lit up Twitter, especially in the media capital of New York.  Mets fans were celebrating, as much as they Covidly could, the expectation of a National League pennant.

A sampling of the vitriol:

“Does a 180 from what I carelessly reported last night.” https://t.co/VBL79k5360 pic.twitter.com/3QdUuaeCCA

— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) February 5, 2021

“Bob Nightengale should be banned permanently for the fake Bauer news  — Justin Simpson (@BattleRedRaider).” 

“Book the next ticket to Siberia to start your new life covering Russian ice fishing.

— Stafford/Bauer szn (@mcwessle).” 

I can imagine how Nightengale feels.  

I once had a similar feeling after reporting that the Atlanta Flames’ Eric Vail won the Calder Cup as National Hockey League Rookie of the Year.  I got a call from the publicity director of the Flames: “Alan, you’re wrong.  Eric did not win it.”

“What do you mean, I’m wrong?  It’s already in print.  Why are you saying this?”

I had it from a source I thought was impeccable: an NHL executive officed in New York who surely would have known the winners two days before they were to be presented at the annual awards banquet in Toronto.

But now I was very nervous.  If Vail was in fact the winner, the Flames’ front office absolutely would have to know.  So I spent a sleepless night before receiving another call from the Flames congratulating me on getting the story right.  Why they had tried so hard to steer me wrong I’ll never know.  I can’t imagine a positive story like that being something they’d want to obstruct.

But it did cause me to wonder if I’d taken a stupid risk.  The trouble with “scoops” is that the public pays little attention to who breaks what story.  The journalists care but no one else.  And how much do journalists really care?  I received no bonus for being first and correct on Eric Vail.  

If the story turns out false, the reporter might never live it down.  I’ve seen journalism careers wrecked by trades and hirings that almost happened.

Times are a bit different now in this digital age.  More news breaks on Twitter or Instagram or Youtube than in newspapers or on airwaves.  Hopefully, Nightengale’s flub will be forgiven.  I’ve found him to be right so much more often than not.

My guess is that he was in steady contact with Bauer’s agent, Rachel Luba, who told him late Thursday night that her client had decided to accept a Mets offer for three years with potential value of $103 million. 

But the next morning the Dodgers came back with something more than their previous “final” offer, and it was almost identical to what the Mets were dangling, with opt-outs after each year.  

And the more he thought about it, Bauer liked returning to his sunny hometown rather than moving to a city that happened to be experiencing a winter storm of historic dimension.  No doubt he saw those forecasts of two feet of snow, to be followed by temperatures of -30 degrees.

This is an impactful development, a rare case of a world champion improving itself. 

Bauer at age 30 is the only big-leaguer on record who’s pleading for an opportunity to pitch every fourth day.  But he does have baggage.  He’s exceptionally distraction-prone.  

There’s been a procession of strange behaviors, temperamental outbursts over several years.  The most disturbing was his overreaction to a female college student tweeting that he was her “least favorite person in all sports.”   When pushed by reporters, Bauer said his barrage of 80 tweets directed against the young woman were “good natured” in their intent.

New York wasn’t buying it, but perhaps California will.  Weirdness might be more acceptable in the land of Kardashians and Charlie Sheen, whereas New York forever hounds Woody Allen for mistreating women.  The Mets wasted no time in disposing of Jared Porter after learning of his harassment of a female journalist.  Bauer probably made the right choice.  Unfortunately, a little late for Bob Nightengale.