David Stearns Crushes First Major Test with Mets

Monday was a day years in the making for New York Mets owner Steve Cohen. A day he has dreamed of and yearned for ever since opening up his vast treasure chest of wealth to buy the team back in 2020.

From Day One, Cohen has relentlessly and religiously chased a president of baseball of operations, and David Stearns felt like his pursuit of the Holy Grail.

After years of being thwarted and knocked back in his attempts to snag the highly-sought after and elusive Stearns, after many missteps, false dawns and a slew of growing pains, Cohen could finally rest easy knowing he finally—finally—had his No. 1 choice in place to run every aspect of the Mets’ baseball operations.

His dream choice.

And, while Stearns’ sparkling resume, reputation and baseball mind were why Cohen sought stearns, there was another pressing, significant and critical driving force behind Cohen’s long infatuation with Stearns: Their shared love affair of the New York Mets.

The pair shared bond as young boys growing up idolizing the Amazins’, raised on stories of Tom Seaver‘s unrivaled excellence, compelled by tales of that heroic, legendary 1969 World Series team, spellbound by Keith Hernandez‘s masterclass at first base, Mike Piazza‘s prowess both at the plate and behind it, Dwight Gooden‘s magic on the mound, and inspired by David Wright‘s unrelenting love for the game of baseball.

Stearns, like Cohen, is a born and bred New Yorker. He’s a die-hard, cut-from-the-cloth Mets fan. He grew up on the lore of Shea Stadium and, even 800 or so miles away in Wisconsin where he made his name in baseball, his spirit was never too far detached from his real home in Queens.

And, like Cohen, it was always written in the stars that Stearns would one day return home to fulfill his destiny and use his golden touch on his first love.

That’s why Monday was so significant, and so special for this franchise.

Two Mets fans sat side-by-side, united in their passion and their drive to transform the New York Mets into a model franchise. The new gold standard of winning in Major League Baseball.

Their first outing together in public couldn’t have been scripted any more perfectly, either.

Winning The Press Conference

Sure, winning the press conference ultimately doesn’t matter in the overall grand scheme of the Stearns era. It doesn’t translate to wins on the field. And it sure as hell doesn’t guarantee championships. However, hitting a home run in your first introduction to the world does set a tone for what is to come.

He hit all the right notes from the get-go, leading off with the proclamation that his kids will now grow up to be Mets fans, a wish he had long held and had long hoped would come true. Just as the ownership is a true family affair with the Cohens, so too will the front office be with the Stearns family at the very epicenter of it.

Two families driven by their love of a team that goes back decades, running it side-by-side and in perfect unison. The New York Mets are now a team run for the fans by two big fans.

By referring to the Mets and Citi Field as his home, and declaring that “it was nice to be back,” Stearns had won over his fellow fans right out of the chute.

If Stearns sang the perfect tune by talking about his experience of riding the same rollercoaster of disappointment and hope as his fellow Mets fans, and of his summers spent being absolutely captivated by the iconic voices of Gary Cohen, Bob Murphy and Ed Coleman, the meat and potatoes segment of his introductory press conference resembled a Mozart masterpiece.

Just as Mike & The Mad Dog were always praised for having the innate ability to know and feel the pulse of the everyday New York sports fan, Stearns proved early and often that his heart beats and his mind ticks in the same exact way as every single other Mets fan out there.

He came out swinging when grilled on the competitive window and if 2024 would be a transition year, pulling no punches when boldly stating that he would be constructing a team next year that will be competitive and will excite fans. After a myriad of mixed messages on that front, Stearns made it his mission to send a very loud and clear message that the Mets will compete for today while building for tomorrow.

And that starts right now.

Stearns talked passionately about avoiding the misdeeds of those before him as it pertains to dealing away high-end prospects like Jarred Kelenic or Pete Crow-Armstrong for bloated contracts and rental players already past their prime. Those days are now over. The new sheriff in town made it clear that he’s in true lockstep with his owner by being committed to building a farm system the rest of baseball will fear. Stearns wants to erect a talent pipeline that leads to consistent and sustained success.

The duo of Cohen and Stearns are united in their desire to not only win a first World Series since 1986, but to win multiple championships. They want to build a franchise that comes to win every single year with a core of homegrown, elite talent. That’s the new mission statement. That’s the new gold standard for the Mets.

Then it was time for Stearns to go for the jugular.

He would have entered his first press conference as president of baseball operations knowing all too well that there was one burning question on the lips of Mets fans that took precedent above anything else.

The future of Pete Alonso.

Pete Alonso’s Future

Among the wreckage of a car crash of a 2023 season, the specter of hope remained in the form of Alonso, who bashed his way to a third 40-plus homer season. He’s already in rarified air as it pertains to what he’s done in a Mets jersey, yet the franchise allowed speculation about Alonso’s future to run rampant. They failed to ever shutdown false talk that Alonso was a toxic figure in the clubhouse, a pain in the ass to deal with.

Well, it took minutes for Stearns to say what Mets fans wished GM Billy Eppler would have said months ago. Stearns made it clear that he expects Alonso to be the Opening Day first baseman for the Mets in 2024. There was also a tone in his voice that suggested an overdue and richly deserved extension may follow.

That’s all Mets fans wanted to hear.

And therein lies the rub.

There is something to be said for winning the press conference and Stearns not only won his first as a Mets executive, but he absolutely blasted it out of the park.

Stearns said all the right things while speaking like a true Mets fan. He just gets it. And that is so important for a franchise that has consistently missed the mark with its own fanbase in the past.

That won’t happen anymore with this dream team in place. Cohen and Stearns are going to listen to the fans because they are fans themselves. This is going to be a collaborative effort with the entire Mets family.

Cohen has proved with actions time and time again that he deeply cares about this team. He has been ultra committed in honoring its rich past, while trying to put building blocks in place to ensure that a success-laden future lies in wait.

He now has his perfect man for the job in Stearns, a fellow fan who cares just as deeply and just as passionately as Cohen does. Together they will work in lockstep to make this an organization Queens and New York can be proud of. Together they will do whatever it takes to bring multiple championships back to Queens.

Steve Cohen and Mets fans waited a long, long time for Monday.

As David Stearns was passing his first major test as president with flying colors, the wait was already proved to be well, well worth it.

This is a new era for the New York Mets. A bright new dawn full of hope, promise and expectation. And fans can move forward with confidence knowing that two of their own are now running things together in Queens.

Cohen and Stearns are the perfect pairing for this franchise. And Monday was a tantalizing portent of things to come from a dream tandem only interested in taking the New York Mets to new heights.

In many ways, not only was Monday the start of the David Stearns era, but it was also the true start of the Steve Cohen era in Queens.