\n”, “providerName”: “Twitter”, “providerUrl”: “https://twitter.com”, “type”: “oembed”, “width”: 550, “contentType”: “rich”},{ “__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “And so began a new chapter in Mets history, with a familiar gathering in a familiar function room amid the familiar hope that this time, with this man, everything would turn out something different. Although he never said it outright, Cohen has had at least some level of interest in Stearns since his early days as Mets owner, when he made clear his desire to hire a president of baseball operations. He also insisted on waiting for the right person, which is why it took Cohen nearly three years to get hired. When he did, he chose a childhood Mets fan from the Upper East Side who had once coached for the Brooklyn Cyclones. He later spent some time in the baseball operations department of the big club. Stints in Cleveland, Houston and Milwaukee earned Stearns recognition as one of the brightest young minds in the industry. It all fits too well to brush aside. Cohen had to have him.\n\n”I expect David to be here for a long time,” the Mets owner said.\n\n”It’s meaningful to me. It’s great for me to have my kids grow up,” Stearns added. Now that they are Mets fans, we will live this journey together.”,””type”:text”},{“__typename”:”Video”,”contentDate”: “2023-10-02T18:52:35.893Z”,”preferredPlaybackScenarioURL( {\”preferredPlaybacks\”:\”mp4AvcPlayback\”})”:”:https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com /FORGE/2023/2023-10/02/0e7f6ce4-8549d597-602a64c0-csvm- diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4″, “type”: “video”, “description”: “New York Mets introduce David Stearns as the team’s new President of Baseball Operations”, “displayAsVideoGif”:false, “duration”: “00:29 :27”, “slug”: “mets-introduce-david-stearns-x1294”, “tags”:[{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-121″,”title”:”New York Mets”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:121″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”no-pre-roll”,”title”:”no pre-roll”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”press-conference”,”title”:”press conference”,”type”:”taxonomy”}]”thumbnail”:{“__typename”:”:Thumbnail”, “templateUrl”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/umrqox2h9i1ovo7o4xmi”},”title” :”David Stearns on new role”,relativeSiteUrl”:”:/video/mets-introduce-david-stearns-x1294″},{“__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “Soon the hard work will begin for Stearns , who must decide in the coming weeks what to do with his baseball operations department, who to hire as manager to replace Buck Showalter, how to handle free agency and much else.\n\nLike his predecessors, Stearns cautioned that there is no “magic formula” or A “secret sauce” to building a sustainable winner — the stated goal of him, Cohen, and almost every other baseball executive in the country. It is difficult to achieve such results. But Stearns brings a background of success from a small market in Milwaukee, which he can pair with his innate knowledge of New York City and its challenges. On paper, it’s pretty much a match.\n\nAlready, Stearns is saying what he can to appease the Mets’ fan base. He praised the work Showalter has done without denying that the change in manager was wise. He has committed to Pete Alonso as first baseman on opening day without promising to give him a long-term contract.”,”type”:text”},{“__typename”:”Video”,”contentDate”:”:2023-10 -02T00:19:21.242Z”,”preferredPlaybackScenarioURL ({\”preferredPlaybacks\”:\”mp4AvcPlayback\”})”:”:https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-10 /01/1f6e2f5e-233fd866-d88c878c-csvm -diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4″,”type”:video”,”description”:Buck Showalter discusses his last game as manager of the Mets, where the fans were great, and the players knowing he wouldn’t give up on them, more”,”displayAsVideoGif”:false,” duration”: “00:00:38”, “slug”: “showalter-on-last-game-with-mets”, “tags”:[{“__typename”:”GameTag”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-121″,”title”:”New York Mets”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:121″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”manager-postgame”,”title”:”manager postgame”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”send-to-news-mlb-feed”,”title”:”Send To News MLB feed”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”tune-in-daily”,”title”:”TuneIn daily”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”press-conference”,”title”:”press conference”,”type”:”taxonomy”}]”thumbnail”:{“__typename”: “Thumbnail”, “templateUrl”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/at0qvna9ij7jyvqwqwbr”},”title” : “Showalter on last game with the Mets”,relativeSiteUrl”:”/video/showalter-on-last-game-with-mets”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”More than a lot of time” For an hour, Sterns spoke firmly and decisively about the direction of the franchise, while also leaving room for everything he didn’t know.\n\n”I think what happened to the Mets this year is not particularly unique to the Mets,” Stearns said, referring to the season that In which the club is below .500 points despite record salaries. “This is what can happen in times when teams are built mostly through free agency and perform below expectations.”\n\nCohen views his new appointment as a powerful erasure of failure such as These mistakes. Recently, the Mets owner was having a drink at a Major League Baseball-sanctioned event when two people approached him, unsolicited, to extol the virtues of Stearns. Until mid-August, Cohen was legally prohibited from communicating with Stearns. He remained under contract with the Brewers. Once that barrier fell, the engagement went smoothly. The two met in person on four occasions and spoke on the phone dozens more times. At some point, Cohen and his wife, Alex, invited Stearns and his wife, Whitney, to dinner, where something clicked for Stearns that this was the place he should be.”,”type”:text”},{” __typename”: “Video”,” contentDate”: “2023-10-02T00:02:13.533Z”,”preferredPlaybackScenarioURL({\”preferredPlaybacks\”:\”mp4AvcPlayback\”})”:”:https://mlb-Cuts-diamond.mlb.com /FORGE/2023/2023-10/01/66b4ef27-5c3e5a9e-31aaec43-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4″,”type”: “video”,”description”: “Steve Cohen, Buck” Showalter, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo talk On Showalter not returning for next season”, “displayAsVideoGif”:false, “duration”: “00:02:47”, “slug”: “cohen-more-talk-managerial-swap”, “tags”:[{“__typename”:”GameTag”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-121″,”title”:”New York Mets”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:121″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-624413″,”title”:”Pete Alonso”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:624413″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”interview”,”title”:”interview”,”type”:”taxonomy”}]”thumbnail”:{“__typename”: “Thumbnail”, “templateUrl”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/uh6vg0otexm6ft2hcqjh”},”title” : “Cohen, Mets in the Managerial Swap”, “relativeSiteUrl”: “/video/cohen-more-talk-managerial-swap”}, {“__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “throughout the entire process, and even in In the years before Stearns’ name surfaced in the rumor mill, his mother, Susan, would frequently call him to ask if he might actually come to the Mets.\n\n”We’ve got to calm her down a little bit,” Stearns said with a laugh.\n\nIn the end, He’s gotten to the point where he no longer needs to comfort her. When asked if he considers this a dream job, Stearns replied that the real dream is to win a world championship. But he’s not blind. To his background, his childhood history, his family ties and all the other little details that make this a match. Comfortable.\n\n“You don’t grow up as a rabid fan of a team and then one day become a stand-up here at a press conference talking about leading this team,” Stearns said. “I understand that doesn’t happen. So the reality of what happened to me, I realize how unbelievable it is. YORK – David Stearns calls it the ‘roller coaster of disappointment and hope’ that has gripped Mets fans since the dawn of the franchise more than six decades ago. He grew up Stearns was fascinated by the Mets in the 1990s. 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October 2, 2023
NEW YORK — David Stearns calls it the “roller coaster of disappointment and hope” that has gripped Mets fans since the dawn of the franchise more than six decades ago. Stearns grew up fascinated by the Mets in the 1990s. He snuck into Shea Stadium at least once, with the help of a kindly security guard. He says broadcasters Bob Murphy, Ed Coleman and Gary Cohen provided background noise during the summers.
Now, Stearns, 38, is tasked with setting that roller coaster on its tracks. In hiring Stearns on Monday to become the first president of baseball operations in Mets history, team owner Steve Cohen marveled that he had “never seen such universal congratulations in saying, ‘You’ve got to hire this guy.'”
“This is absolutely extraordinary,” Cohen added at a news conference at Citi Field.
And so began a new chapter in Mets history, with a familiar gathering in a familiar stateroom and the familiar hope that this time, with this man, things would be different. Although he never said it outright, Cohen has had at least some level of interest in Stearns since his early days as Mets owner, when he made clear his desire to hire a president of baseball operations. He also insisted on waiting for the right person, which is why it took Cohen nearly three years to hire him.
When he did, he chose a childhood Mets fan from the Upper East Side who had once coached for the Brooklyn Cyclones and then spent time in the big club’s baseball operations department. Stints in Cleveland, Houston and Milwaukee earned Stearns recognition as one of the brightest young minds in the industry. It all fits too well to brush aside. Cohen had to have it.
“I expect David to be here a long time,” the Mets owner said.
“It’s meaningful to me. It’s great for me that my kids are now growing up Mets fans, and we’re going to live this journey together,” Stearns added.
The hard work will begin soon for Stearns, who must decide in the coming weeks what to do with his baseball operations department, who to hire as manager to replace Buck Showalter, how to handle free agency and much else.
As with his predecessors, Stearns cautioned that there was no “magic formula” or “secret sauce” to build a sustainable winner — a stated goal of him, Cohen, and every other baseball executive in the country. It is difficult to achieve such results. But Stearns brings with him a background of success from a small market in Milwaukee, which he can pair with his innate knowledge of New York City and its challenges. On paper, it’s pretty much a match.
Already, Stearns is saying what he can to appease the Mets fan base. He praised Showalter’s work without denying that the change in manager was wise. He committed to Pete Alonso as his opening day first baseman without promising to give him a long-term contract.
Over the course of more than an hour, Stearns spoke firmly and decisively about the direction of the series, while also leaving room for everything he didn’t know.
“I think what happened to the Mets this year is not particularly unique to the Mets,” Stearns said, referring to the club’s sub-.500 season despite record payroll. “This is what can happen in times when teams are mostly built through free agency and performance falls short of expectations.”
Cohen sees his new appointment as a powerful eraser of such mistakes. Recently, the Mets owner was having a drink at a Major League Baseball-sanctioned event when two people approached him, unsolicited, to extol the virtues of Stearns. Until mid-August, Cohen was legally prohibited from communicating with the young executive, who remained under contract with the Brewers. Once that barrier fell, the engagement went smoothly.
The two met in person on four occasions and spoke on the phone dozens more times. At one point, Cohen and his wife, Alex, invited Stearns and his wife, Whitney, to dinner, where it struck Stearns that this was where he should be.
Throughout the entire process, and even in the years before Stearns’ name appeared in rumors, his mother, Susan, would often call him to ask if he might actually come to the Mets.
“We have to calm her down a little bit,” Stearns said with a laugh.
Eventually, he reached a point where he no longer needed to comfort her. When asked if he considered this a dream job, Stearns replied that the real dream is to win a World Series. But he’s not oblivious to his background, childhood history, family ties, and all the other little details that make this a convenient match.
“You can’t grow up as a rabid fan of a team and then stand here one day in a press conference and talk about leading that team,” Stearns said. “I understand that this doesn’t happen. So the reality of what happened to me, I realize how unbelievable it is.
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”