Mets Card of the Week: 1983 John Stearns

1983 TOPPS JOHN STEARNS

The Mets have had more than their fair share of good catchers in their history. Names like Hall of Famer Gary Carter and future HOF member Mike Piazza. Todd Hundley, with the help of PEDs, established the franchise record for most HR in a season with 41. Going back further, Jerry Grote had a reputation as being one of the finest defensive backstops of his era.

Overlooked in this bunch is John Stearns. It hurt that he played for some rotten teams and it hurt that his career was cut short by injuries. But those of us who got to see him play will never forget him. Stearns was a two-sport star in college and he made All Big-Eight as a defensive back at the University of Colorado.

Stearns played up his football past and he was known during his time with the Mets as “Bad Dude.” There are at least a dozen stories of Stearns putting a hurting on someone during his time with the Mets. My favorite was the big home plate collision with Dave Parker in 1978. Parker, was on the short list for best player in the game during this time, was a huge guy and he had knocked over a few catchers earlier that season.

But when Parker ran into Stearns, it was the Cobra and not the Dude who ended up with the worst of it. Parker suffered a broken cheekbone and missed 11 games. When he returned, he had to wear a mask to protect his face. According to longtime Mets beat writer Marty Noble, members of the Phillies thanked Stearns for standing up to Parker.

From 1977-1979, Stearns played in 437 games. But he never topped 100 games in a season the rest of his career. A broken finger cut short his season in 1980. Nagging injuries and the player strike in 1981 limited him to 80 games. Elbow tendinitis truncated his 1982 season after 98 games.

In this 1983 card, Stearns looks ready to catch 140 games. But the elbow injury that ended his ’82 season would limit him to just 12 more games in the majors. The Mets acquired Carter prior to the 1985 season and Stearns’ career with the Mets was over. He tried to make a comeback with the Reds, but never got out of Triple-A and he played his last game in 1985.

A four-time All-Star, Stearns was a bright light on some dismal Mets teams in the late 70s. Some fans never warmed up to him because the Mets traded Tug McGraw to get the Dude. But Stearns was an extremely valuable player while healthy. He posted a combined 11.4 fWAR over the ’77-’79 period, easily out-distancing the 9.8 fWAR that McGraw posted in his 10 years with the Phillies.