When Steve Cohen purchased the Mets from the Wilson’s for $2.4 billion, and a 95 percent share, every Mets fan got excited. Right out of the gate Cohen traded for Francisco Lindor and then signed him to a long term contract.
And the Mets competed for most of the 2021 season, before injuries had them stumble home. Cohen found out he wasn’t “just one star away” from a championship. After that season he went out and added more components – Max Scherzer and a stronger supporting cast with Starling Marte, Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar.
In 2022, money talks and the team tied for first in the division at 101-61 record, and the stadium filled up. The attendance numbers returned to the range where championships reside – but with room to grow.
Most importantly, Cohen received the feedback he needed. Yes, if you spend on good players then your baseball team wins more games. A lot more games. He also received feedback he didn’t like but is also important. Injuries, whether DL or nagging, can sap your powerhouse and prevent an title. The 2022 season was great and the ending left us all wanting a little, a little more.
This off-season began bittersweet. Edwin Díaz, who had absolutely dominated games he pitched in, got an extension to anchor the Mets bullpen for the next five seasons. Jacob deGrom signed with the Texas Rangers bringing an end to his tenure with the Mets which was sad all around. For about ten minutes. Cohen came in and added AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, keeping the Mets rotation at the top of the league rankings.
Mets fans knew there was still a hole in the lineup and defense. With Verlander signed, the rotation was pretty good and the infield was settled and the only gap was a lead off center fielder.
Cohen opened his checkbook again and re-signed Brandon Nimmo. The Mets off-season could be considered complete. All the questions were answered and the Mets 2022 101 wins were the starting point for 2023.
Baseball fans were settling in for the slower parade of additions to their club over the coming weeks.
Santa Cohen wasn’t done. The rotation and bullpen got new additions – Jose Quintana, David Robertson, Adam Ottavino, and Jimmy Yacobonis.
Then James McCann was sent to the Baltimore Orioles for a PTBNL. Eyebrows were raised as catcher was an area for improvement and then Omar Narváez signed improving the lineup significantly from recent seasons.
Then we all went to bed – visions of World Series dancing in our heads. We awoke with a tremendous clatter on December 22.
Santa had brought in Carlos Correa, snatching him from the San Francisco Giants. Everyone was stunned. Everyone still is. It was a Festivus Miracle.
Unfortunately it is still unsettled due to some mysterious health report. Could it fizzle out? Maybe.
Santa Cohen dropped nearly a billion (with a b) dollars on free agents this off-season. He wants to win and he understands the investment and return on that investment and it is absolutely a glorious time to be a Mets fan.
This may be the most fun that Met fans have ever had. I still see the Correa deal getting done and Santa may come again with an outfielder and reliever.
It is a blast to wake up and check the Mets news and see another great move.
I wish deGrom a Happy New Year, but he may regret getting off of Santa’s train. The Mets are closer to a championship than the Rangers.
I think the most fun will be battling the Braves and Phillies for the division crown.
Concur. It was interesting to look at attendance and see the 2005-2009 and 1999-2002 and of course 1985-1991. It’ll be interesting to see if they get more than 3.5M next year.
Richie Hebner was honest. He didn’t want to be in Queens and made no bones about it.
Mike Hampton was kind of honest, talking about the great Colorado school system.
Jacob deGrom wasn’t honest at all.
I loved watching deGrom pitch and said more than once that fans didn’t appreciate him as much as they should. And to me that’s part of the deGrom story. And another part is that, ultimately, he didn’t want to be here.
Mets fans of a certain age loathe Hebner. They mock Hampton. And how will they view deGrom? He’s getting a free pass because of all of the moves the team made this year. And there should be no free pass.
No free passes. No tears. Not even one. I personally believe he disliked NY, not the fans, but everything else. He’s gone. I mean seriously putting a letter in tabloid when he could have reached everyone dropping it in a real news outlet like the Times said all we need to know.
Someone mentioned this was like this generation’s Seaver, which couldnt be further from the truth. He chose exactly what he wanted.
What am I missing? What did deGrom do that was so terrible?
Of course you are free to decide how “terrible” it is. But deGrom is no different than Hebner nor Hampton. He simply didn’t want to be here. Anyone who loathes Hebner or mocks Hampton should have some kind of reaction beyond shoulder shrug for deGrom.
Just like everyone wondered how the local school systems were when Hampton was getting shellacked in Denver, we should ask how that vision of the Rangers is when Texas is 20 games worse than the Mets in 2023.
Perhaps I wasn’t clear. Is there something he has said that I haven’t heard? I do not have perfect knowledge of his comments. If it is just the Daily News piece, it seemed boilerplate.
The difference between Hebner and Hampton and deGrom is the entire circumstances of their employment. Both Hebner and Hampton came to the Mets as mercenaries – after years of battling/hating the Mets. deGrom was drafted in the 9th round. He has been shown nothing but support for more than a decade. And I find the idea that after that much time he “dislikes NY” or anything is true. He took the money.
I always got that feeling that deGrom just didn’t like New York. Oh well, sayonara. My feelings weren’t hurt when he chose to leave. My heart was broken when Seaver got traded.
Nice entry. Perhaps one of his most lasting presents, Kodai Senga, did not make your Xmas list but I would not blame any of us for being thankful for what we got. Wish Jake well but after a week I knew he was not coming back because if all he wanted was money, that would have been the easy part. He wanted out where an offense was stronger and he’d become a 15 plus game winner each year. As far as going where he could win a championship, oops, wrong choice with the strength of that division. Can’t wait for spring training to start and if the Correa deal falls apart we still have 3B covered with Escobar and Baty. LGM
I know! Writing on Xmas! Cohen went pretty all out, and as you note, he is strengthening the bench by having better starters.
I remember posting a song “I’m Dreaming of a Wilpon-less Christmas” and even calling WFAN to sing it for the Schmoozer. Steve Cohen is a positive change for sure.