David Stearns doesn’t get a do-over
NEW YORK (AP) — David Stearns doesn't get a do-over. He knows that all too well.
One day after the New York Mets finished last in the NL East for the first time in 23 years, the team's president of baseball operations was asked a pointed question Monday.
Knowing what he knows now, would he have taken a full swing at re-signing Pete Alonso?
“I think that's a very fair question. The truth is in this job, I don't get mulligans,” Stearns said. "I also recognize Pete had a tremendous year. And the totality of our production at first base wasn’t good enough.”
When the Mets didn't attempt to retain Alonso in free agency last fall, their homegrown franchise home run leader bolted for a $155 million, five-year contract with Baltimore as Stearns focused on improving the pitching and defense.
“I think I’ll retire the phrase ‘run prevention,’” Stearns said with a grin. “I don’t know that that one worked particularly well.”
Alonso topped the American League with 43 homers and 113 RBIs, playing in every game for the third consecutive season as the 31-year-old slugger became the first player in major league history to win an RBI title in both leagues.
New York, meanwhile, never recovered from a 12-game losing streak in April and — despite a record $358 million payroll — spent all but a handful of days in last place thereafter on its way to a 74-88 record that marked the club's worst since 2017.
The absence of Alonso at first base was magnified when lineup mainstays Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor were both sidelined for long stretches because of calf injuries.
Soto finished with a .908 OPS, the second-lowest of his career, while Lindor set full-season career lows with 49 RBIs, three stolen bases, a .225 batting average and a .733 OPS.
Mets first basemen had 18 homers, 77 RBIs and a .667 OPS — the third-lowest OPS at the position, ahead of only Seattle and Arizona.
Alonso received standing ovations from Mets fans before every at-bat during the Orioles’ three-game sweep at Citi Field this month. He took a rare curtain call on the road Sept. 15, when his 300th career homer tied the score for Baltimore in the ninth inning and chants of “Fire Stearns!” rang out from the crowd of 28,097.
“This past weekend that we just experienced in Washington, where you are literally playing out the string, it’s miserable. That is a miserable experience for players, for coaches, for executives,” Stearns said during a 33-minute news conference at Citi Field to wrap up the season.
“I think we have an extraordinarily motivated organization, from ownership on down, to ensure that never happens again.”
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