Gm Denies Coaches Were Fired Over Class A Player’s Death

The general manager of a New York Mets farm team says he is unaware of an investigation by the parent club into drinking on the team bus that may have contributed to a player’s death in a highway accident.

Doug Mansolino, manager of the Class A Capital City Bombers, and coaches Dave Jorn and Tim Leiper were dismissed last week.

The New York Times reported Monday they were fired because they didn’t adequately pursue questions about whether players were drinking on the bus returning from a road trip.

“That was the first I had heard of it,” Tim Swain, the Bombers’ general manager, said Monday. “I was told it was performance related.”

Tim Bishop, a 20-year-old Bombers outfielder, died April 18 after he was hit on an interstate outside Columbia. Bishop and teammate Randy Vickers were headed home after the team returned from Hagerstown, Md.

Bishop was hit when a rear tire on his Eagle Talon blew out on the interstate as he headed home from Capital City Stadium. He got out to inspect the damage but left the lights and flashers off. When he returned to turn them on, his car was hit by another vehicle.