After being released by the Orioles, Briles spent Spring training 1979 with the New York Mets. Though he failed to make the club, he appears in a "Saturday Night Live" skit featuring actual Mets players. Fictional Dominican second baseman Chico Escuela (portrayed by Garrett Morris) was also with the Mets that Spring attempting to make a comeback at 41 years old. However, he was feeling some resistance from his teammates as his tell-all book about his playing days with the Mets, "Bad Stuff 'Bout the Mets", had just hit bookstores. Briles commented that he could not forgive Escuela for writing such a book.