New York Mets manager Terry Collins says "hat flap" has become a distraction. Bud Selig would reportedly take it a step further.

Major League Baseball's commissioner called the Mets on Sunday night irate that the club had gone public with the news that his office had prevented players from wearing the caps of Sept. 11 first responders for that night's game at Citi Field, the New York Post reported.

A Mets official told the newspaper that the commissioner said the team threw the league "under the bus."

"Selig got embarrassed by it," the official told the Post. "The game got moved into prime time (on ESPN) because of 9/11, and MLB ended up getting embarrassed."

Collins said he wants the whole situation to go away.

"What's the attention been since we walked into the ballpark today? It's not on who we're playing, it's not on who's pitching. We all want to know which kind of hat we're going to wear tonight. And that takes away from the game," he said Monday. "It all takes away from their preparation. They're all being asked questions that they're afraid to make an answer, they're afraid to say the wrong thing. We've got to start focusing on what the game is, because, when it's all said and done, that's all that matters."