David Stearns appreciation thread

[Cowtipper]

You know, I spend a lot of time ragging on David Stearns. But he deserves an appreciation thread. I don't personally have anything to add, but I'm sure someone here does. 

Go ahead, y'all! 

I'm actually interested to see what others have to say. 

[Benjamin Grimm]

Give him credit for the 2024 turnaround.

That's all I got.

[Gwreck]

Benge has to be the top of the list.  He’s the first player from a draft overseen by Stearns to make the majors and all signs are pointing towards success with him.

Also a good bit of talent has graduated the farm system in the last year (McLean, Ewing, Thornton) that was drafted in June 2023 — before Stearns arrived — but he still gets some credit for the years of development while he was at the helm.

The Jose Iglesias signing worked out fabulously.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

i get what he's trying to do

[smg58]

The Soto deal showed he'd could go out and get the best guy available, and the player option was written in a way that ensures Soto stays.

[Centerfield]

I have a theory. Unproven, but a theory. 
 

Stearns is a smart guy. He has an idea of what will make players successful. And if you let him draft, develop, he will churn out guys that are successful under his approach. He will miss, like anyone else, but with enough time, the Mets will become successful at developing talent. something similar to the Brewers. 
 

But for established players, or players that don’t fit the Stearns mold (whatever that may be), Stearns has no idea how to get the most out of them. In fact, his principles can be detrimental. 
 

In other words, he has a great philosophy, and if you learn it young, or it happens to work for you, you’ll be successful. But if it doesn’t work, Stearns has no ability to adjust to the individual player, and he will be detrimental to a player’s performance. Kinda like a batting coach that teaches everyone the same exact swing. 
 

If his intelligence is his greatest strength, and I believe he’s smart, then his stubbornness, I believe, is his biggest flaw. He gets so entrenched in his own mind that he can’t see obvious pitfalls. 
 

anyway. We’ll see how he does in 2027. I think he knows he’s safe for next year, but knows he’s gone if they miss the playoffs again. And I think his pride will ensure that he puts a good team on the field. 

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

3 hours ago, smg58 said:

The Soto deal showed he'd could go out and get the best guy available, and the player option was written in a way that ensures Soto stays.

I don't think Stearns had anything to do with getting Juan Soto, and if it were up to him he's probably smart enough not to hand out that kind of contract to anyone much less a zombie DH on steroids.

[Cowtipper]

Every cloud has a silver lining. Stearns did take the flyer on Holmes that turned him into a great starter, and Holmes was their most effective starter in 2025. He did bring aboard Manaea and Severino, who combined did provide one of the most thoroughly effective and consistent top-three I've seen in a while. He did bring aboard Phil Maton, who transformed from a 4.50 ERA pitcher with the Rays to a 2.50 pitcher with the Mets, and without him the Mets run to the playoffs would've been that much more difficult. He did help turn a 75-87 team into a 89-73 team -- a team, recall, that wasn't even supposed to be good that year. He did re-sign Pete Alonso the first time. And though Soto isn't hitting .350 with 60 home runs yet, Stearns did bring aboard the Juan Soto for a lengthy duration. And there's the draftees -- the previously mentioned Benge, Jonathan Santucci (11.7 K/9 in 2026) and Pretty Boy Voit, among others, all look promising.