I feel like part of my childhood just died… Growing up as a kid in Brooklyn in a neighborhood still packed with old Brooklyn Dodger fans, I was naturally groomed to be a Mets fan.

The funny thing is at the time the team started growing on me, it wasn’t the great Tom Seaver or Jerry Koosman that captured my growing passion for Mets baseball… For me my favorite players were the newly acquired Dave Kingman and John Stearns.

I loved watching both of them play and I’d spend hours observing, reading and learning all I can about our newest and exciting Mets.

Kingman homered in the first game I ever attended and I recall Stearns homering the second time I went to Shea. The Mets had become such a big part of my life back then and I wanted to be just like Stearns.

We used to play baseball every day after school. I remember finishing my homework and then quickly grabbing my glove and bat from my bedroom closet and rushing out the door to the schoolyard while my mother was yelling at me to be home for dinner.

When I took my turn at the plate – which we marked off with chalk – I pretended in my mind to be “Bad Dude” John Stearns. I tried to emulate everything about his approach and his swing, but most of all his gritty play and toughness. He was so freaking cool.

I’d argue with many of the Yankee fans on my block about who was better between Stearns and Thurman Munson — and who was meaner!

We were young but we fiercely defended our positions the way gang members defended their turf. I was a Mets fan and no Yankees fan was ever going to one-up me…

What I loved most about Stearns – besides his bat and extraordinary coolness – was his surprising speed. The Bad Dude was fast… real fast. That one season in 1978, Stearns had his coming out party. After firmly establishing himself as the Mets’ full-time catcher in ’77, Stearns would hit 15 homers and steal an incredible 25 bases.

It was so exciting to watch him that season, especially in the aftermath of the Midnight Massacre when general manager M. Donald Grant dealt away Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman. For me, Stearns had become a one-man show.

Unfortunately, injuries curtailed what should’ve been a great career for John Stearns…

This morning I shed a tear when learning that John had passed away last night at the age of 71.

This giant of a man and hard-nosed ballplayer was a four-time All-Star in 10 seasons with the Mets from 1975 to 1984.

The Colorado native was drafted by the Phillies in the first round (second overall) in the 1973 draft. Stearns was also drafted by the Buffalo Bills of the NFL in the same year as a defensive back, but he decided to pursue a career in baseball.

He was traded along with Mac Scarce and Del Unser the following season in December to the Mets, in a deal that netted the Phillies Tug McGraw, Don Hahn, and Dave Schneck.

Stearns would make his Mets major league debut on April 16, 1975, as their catcher. He picked up his first hit in the seventh inning with an RBI double. He would play in 59 games for the Mets in the 1975 season and 32 more in the 1976 season.

In 1977, Stearns became the Mets full-time starter behind the plate (and a few games at first) and was also named to his first All-Star game.

I’m going to miss John Stearns… It was so nice to see him take everything he had left in him to attend the Mets Old Timers’ Day last month at Citi Field. It brought back such wonderful memories. So sad he’s gone…

Like I said, it feels like a small part of my childhood died lastnight…

Rest in peace, John.