Good job by our old pal @Mediagoon finding this story about Al Leiter leaving the Mets and being annoyed at their new GM Omar Minaya. Fascinating. The truth is out there.
Leiter thought the deal was reasonable, but on Nov. 16, the first day he was eligible for free agency, he said that Minaya called and gave him a deadline of 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19 to accept the offer. Irritated by what he felt was an artificial deadline, Leiter called his mother and brother for advice and said he asked them: “Is this what it comes down to? Seven years and it’s a take-it-or-leave-it three days into free agency?” “You put deadlines on people you really don’t want…
Source: Leiter Looks Back at the Mets and Feels a Sense of Betrayal – The New York Times
