I grew up in New York and watched my first Mets game as a child – to be running the team now is completely surreal
DAVID Stearns admitted it is “completely surreal” running the sports franchise he grew up watching as a kid.
And the New York Mets president of baseball operations still gets advice from his friends and family on how to do the job.
Stearns, 39, was born in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York and first went to a Mets game as a kid.
This year he was appointed president of baseball operations in a radical overhaul under new owner Steve Cohen.
“It’s completely surreal,” Stearns told select UK media.
“On a day to day basis, I have to block that out because this is my job and there are a lot of people who depend on all of us doing the job very well.
“My first game was either 1989 or 1990 – so I was four or five years old.
“I remember it, because a Mets player named Dave Magadan hit a walk off home run, he didn’t hit too many as a New York Met.
“From that point on, I was I was hooked and I would come out here all the time, with my family with my friends, as I got older, and it became a big part of my life.
“I grew up coming to Mets games with the same friends and family who are now texting me, asking me why we have certain players on the roster, or why we’re not making trades.
“It’s fun, it’s all good natured, and it’s part of what makes these jobs really special.”
Stearns graduated from Harvard in 2007 with a degree in political science and has been in baseball operations ever since.
He worked for the league in 2008 and became Cleveland Indians co-director of baseball operations in December 2011.
Stearns’ resume also includes being the Houston Astros assistant general manager and then the Milwaukee Brewers general manager.
The Brewers went to the playoffs for four straight years from 2018 to 2021 under Stearns’ leadership.
His pedigree as well as his local knowledge of the Mets convinced Cohen to bring him in an effort to get the team back to winning.
Home runs and boomsticks
MLB is back in London for a third time this summer when the Philadelphia Phillies take on the New York Mets.
The London Stadium will transform from a football pitch to a baseball field for the June 8 and 9 spectacle.
Fans attending the games can feast on some extravagant ballpark menu items such as boomstick nachos (pictured) and a two-foot boomstick hotdog.
The New York Yankees won both games in 2019 against their rivals the Boston Red Sox.
And the Chicago Cubs split their series with the St Louis Cardinals when the teams faced off in 2023.
Stearns said, “I certainly think fans understand that we as an organisation I specifically are fully invested in doing everything we can.
“At the end of the day, whether there’s a native New Yorker running the team or someone from across the pond, what fans want are results.
“They want us to win and win consistently and certainly that’s our goal as well.
“We’re in the biggest market in the sport, we hold ourselves to a very high standard, and fans hold us to a high standard as well and they should.”
Stearns’ Mets have been selected to play in the MLB’s London Series this season.
They’ll travel to the UK to take on their rivals the Philadelphia Phillies on June 8 and 9.
Speaking about the New York-Philly rivalry, Stearns said, “It’s across sports and that’s what makes this northeast section of the country so unique is we’re all so close to each other.
“This is one of the better city rivalries we have in the country, across sports, and it’s fun to be a part of it.
“I think the Mets in many ways represent sort of the soul of New York.
“This is a gritty franchise, a franchise that is known for working hard, and really representing what our city is all about.”
New York Mets will play Philadelphia Phillies in the MLB World Tour: London Series 2024, June 8-9 at London Stadium. Tickets are available now at https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/MLB