Cohen says You Can Still Believe In Uncle Steve

By Scott Benjamin

RIDGEFIELD – Sitting on the stage where Grammy Hall of Famer Dionne “good-singing” Warwick had performed “I ‘ll Never Fall In Love Again” two nights earlier, Mets Hall of Famer Gary "pen-dropper" Cohen, in effect, told the team’s fans not to throw away their, “Ya Gotta Believe In Uncle Steve” T-shirts.

Last spring, the T-shirts referring to hedge fund manager Steve Cohen’s revitalization of the Mets were primed to sell faster than the “I Ride With Philly Rob” models that garnered attention for Phillies manager Rob Thomson during the 2022 World Series.

The commentators at MLB Radio said Steve Cohen was the only owner who didn’t mind writing the check on the luxury tax. The Mets could foolishly overspend on a player and by the next morning it had been digested.

A year ago there was so much interest that two New York Times news reporters roamed the Port St. Lucie spring training facility with Steve Cohen, the richest man in Connecticut, for a lengthy profile.

However, the Mets apparently got the years mixed up. They posted 101 victories in 2022. Other than the 108 wins in the 1986 world championship season, it is the most in the franchise’s 62-year history. Buck Showalter was named National League Manager of the Year.

Instead, after Steve Cohen amassed the largest payroll in Major League Baseball, the Mets were a disappointing 75-87 in 2023, placing fourth in the National League East.

Steve Cohen said at his introductory news conference in December 2020 that he hoped to put the Mets in the World Series in five years.

Gary Cohen, who enters his 36th year doing either radio or television coverage on the Mets, said that still could happen.

Speaking at the annual Ridgefield Library Hot Stove Talk at the Ridgefield Playhouse, Gary Cohen acknowledged that Mets fans – nearly 400 of whom came to his talk - are probably disappointed that the offseason signings featured Harrison Bader and Luis Severino instead of Japanese pitching phenom Yoshinobu Yamamota, who signed with the Dodgers even though Steve Cohen had him over for dinner at his Greenwich mansion.

“It was less than the fans wanted,” Gary Cohen, a longtime Ridgefield resident, said as he was interviewed by moderator David Yaun and members of the audience.

Gary Cohen said the Mets made some short-term deals as they chart the 2025 free-agent market. Core players such as shortstop Francisco Lindor, first baseman Pete Alonso, second baseman Jeff McNeil and outfielder Brando Nimmo return. Second-year players such as catcher Francisco Alvarez and third baseman Brett Baty will be allowed an opportunity to blossom and there is a raft of minor league talent, some of which was acquired at the 2023 trade deadline, that may be called up.

“I think these were the right things to do,” Gary Cohen said, even though they weren’t “flashy.”

He commented that although the 2024 season shapes up as a “transition year,” the Mets could be a playoff contender in the National League East.

Gary Cohen praised David Stearns, the new president of Baseball Operations, as a “brilliant young man” who successfully directed the Milwaukee Brewers to the playoffs in four of the last five seasons.

He remarked that the new manager, Carlos Mendoza, the former Yankees bench coach, has a “wonderful personality,” but “you’re not going to fully know his capabilities until the first crisis hits.”

Gary Cohen – who has been in the SNY booth with former Mets Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling since 2006 - said that Showalter, who was fired at the end of the 2023 season, operated “on his own much of the time.” He said Mendoza will “be more collaborative” with the front office.

On the field, he said the Mets will be bolstered this season by the return of ace closer Edwin Diaz, who missed all of 2023 after being injured in the World Baseball Classic.

Gary Cohen remarked that after becoming acclimated to Major League Baseball starting pitcher Kodai Senga was brilliant, compiling a 12-7 record and 2.98 Earned Run Average. He placed second in the rookie of the year balloting.

First baseman Pete Alonso, who set the rookie record for home runs with 53 in 2019, will be a free agent after this season. He slugged 46 home runs in 2023 and says he wants to be a Met for the remainder of his career.

Gary Cohen said Alonso will be 31 years old during the 2025 season and the recent history indicates that likely future Hall of Fame first basemen Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera did not perform well after their early 30s.

“It will be an interesting call,” he said regarding how much interest that the Mets might have in signing Alonso to an eight- or nine-year contract.

He predicted McNeil, the 2022 National League batting champion with a .326 average, will have “a bounce-back year” after hitting .270 a season ago.

Gary Cohen noted that outfielder Starling Marte will return after an injury-plagued campaign when he only played in 86 games. He had been a catalyst during the 2022 season, his first with the Mets.

He added that there are question marks at third base where rookie Ronny Mauricio got some playing time in the final weeks of the season before getting injured during winter league ball. He will not be available for the start of the season. Baty saw considerable time at third base last season, but at one point returned to the minor leagues.

Gary Cohen said that Alvarez, who slammed 25 homers last season, “is ready for some big things.”

On another topic: He said the selection of former pitcher Dwight Gooden, a Cy Young Award winner, and former outfielder Darryl Strawberry to the Mets Hall of Fame was a “no-brainer” that under different circumstances might have happened 15 years ago.

Regarding the 2023 rule changes, Gary Cohen said that the pitch clock is “one of the greatest inventions in history. I hadn’t realized how debilitating it was to fill the 30 minutes of air time when nothing was happening during a game. It also has made the game more watchable.”

Gary Cohen said the limitations on the shift have allowed for more base hits.

However, he said that he opposes the revised schedule in which each team plays each of the other 29 major league teams at least one series a season, which has reduced the number of games against intra-divisional rivals.

“Interleague play should be reduced, not expanded,” Gary Cohen declared. “There should be at least 18 games a year against each of your division rivals. The new schedule has created more travel. You don’t need more travel when you’re playing 162 games in 180 days.”