David Stearns on leadership, team building and Mets’ present and future
New Mets baseball president of David Stearns tosses around a Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby on the dawn of his first season in Queens:
Q: What do you see as your skill set or skill sets that make you the right man for this job?
A: I hope that I understand what this job means, and because I grew up in New York, I believe I do. And I understand the responsibility that comes from it, I understand what winning in New York means, and particularly for this fan base what it would mean for us to win consistently and win a championship, And so that’s very motivating and hopefully, that understanding and that familiarity with the market helps me do this successfully.
Q: I’m going to give you some adjectives, you tell me if you think they apply to you: strategic.
A: Yes, I would agree with that.
Q: Opportunistic.
A: I think the way we try to put together a team, yes is to try to be opportunistic and then take advantage of opportunities that come available.
Q: Savvy.
A: Sure … yeah. I don’t know that I’ve heard that one associated with me too much, but I’ll take it.
Q: Fearless.
A: I think you have to be able to be a successful leader of any big enterprise, to be a successful leader in a forward-facing, public-facing role. I do think you have to be fearless.
Q: Calculating.
A: Maybe … I think we try to be diligent, I might go diligent. We try to be process-oriented in what we do. And so maybe that’s how I’d look at it.
Q: Patient.
A: Yes. I do think I’m a fairly patient person. I think that has served me well both professionally and personally, and so that is certainly something I aspire to have, is patience.
Q: Which adjectives did I leave out that I should have included?
A: I don’t know, maybe stubborn, I could be stubborn at times (laugh). At least my wife might say so. But I think you probably did a pretty good job nailing it.
Q: How would you characterize your leadership style?
A: Hopefully I’m able to lead in a way that empowers people throughout the entire organization to be the best versions of themselves … to enjoy coming to work every day, to work really hard and to contribute to an organization at a really high level.
Q: How would you describe Steve Cohen’s leadership style?
A: Steve is very very smart. And he asks a lot of questions, and he wants us to win, and so we’re very much aligned on that. I’ve enjoyed working for him. I think we’ve got a strong relationship. We’re able to bounce ideas off of each other, ask each other questions, and it’s been great so far.
Q: At his introductory press conference in 2020, he said he’d be disappointed if the Mets didn’t win a World Series in 3-5 years. What is David Stearns’ statement on that?
A: Look, I think it’s good to have high expectations, I think it’s good to set a bar. I also recognize that in this industry, it’s really tough to set firm timelines and time frame. So I’m worried about today, and I’m worried about making the best decisions we possibly can today, and if we do that every single day, we’re gonna end up in a really good spot.
Q: The traits you look for in a David Stearns baseball player?
A: I think the first thing I’d say is I actually don’t think there is a David Stearns baseball player (chuckle). I think I have to demonstrate a flexibility to recognize that at this level, every player can provide something that helps a team win, and to focus on the ways that these players help a team win and then piece the roster together so that they complement each other. I want players who play hard, who enjoy the game, who enjoy coming to work. I think some of that is who the player is. I also think some of that, and a large part of it is, is the environment we create here, and creating a space where players enjoy it, want to come to work and allow them to be as successful as they could possibly be.
Q: The state of your farm system?
A: I think it’s greatly improved. I think over the past year-to-18 months, the farm system has gotten much better. Part of that is because of the acquisitions that the organization made last summer, and part of it is through the natural development and progression of prospects who are already in the organization.
Q: Describe your team-building philosophy.
A: I think the way I look at building teams is understanding that you can win games in a variety of different ways, and that players can help you win games in a variety of different ways. So I try not to get too laser-focused on any particular skill set, and instead prefer to have a balanced roster that is capable of winning in a variety of different ways.
Q: Sharing the town with the Yankees?
A: It’s a great challenge. It adds to the challenge of this position. Anytime you’re in a two-team market, you’ve got direct competition in this case on the other side of the river. That’s exciting. It should make us better. And I think that’s the way we need to look at it.
Q: Have you or would you reach out to Brian Cashman for advice as far as how to navigate the market?
A: I’ve talked to Cash a little bit about it. I think Cash had done it as well as probably any New York executive in history, and so I’ve tried to pick his brain a little bit.
Q: What was the best advice he gave you? Don’t call again?
A: (Laugh) I’ll keep the advice he gave me to myself, but he is generous with advice and have certainly enjoyed the time I’ve had talking with him.
Q: I’m guessing you’ve studied successful organizations outside of baseball. Am I right?
A: Yes.
Q: Which ones have impressed you?
A: I don’t know that I will go and name specific organizations, but I can name specific traits and qualities that I think many successful organizations have. And I think chief among them is they spend a tremendous amount of time and effort in both hiring and developing people within their organization. You could have the most resources, the best technology, all of the above, but if you don’t have the right people in the organization, and people who work well together, it’s not gonna work. So I think if you’re looking for commonality across industries, across organization size, across organization type, it’s that successful organizations regularly spend an enormous amount of time and effort in recruiting and having the best talents and then helping to develop that talent.
Q: How would you define a winning culture?
A: A winning culture is an organization where the expectation is to win. The standard is to win, and that is what everyone is shooting for.
Q: Coaches in other sports you admire?
A: He’s an executive now but I admire Brad Stevens a lot, I think he’s done a tremendous job both at Butler and with the Celtics. I’ve admired Gregg Popovich.
Q: Leaders you admire?
A: I’ve had I think the good fortune of working for some really, really great leaders over the time in baseball. With the Mets, I had the opportunity of observing how Omar Minaya leads the front office. I got to watch people like Dan Halem and Rob Manfred and their leadership styles. In Cleveland, Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff. Those are guys and people that I constantly think about, and admire how they’ve gone about leading throughout their careers and tried to learn from them and take pieces along the way.
Q: How do you deal with pressure?
A: I think the first part of it is just understanding that it’s part of these jobs, and that it’s going to exist, so don’t run away from it, and then the second part of it is probably finding some outlet that gets you away from it a little bit. So for me, that’s physical activity, it’s exercise, it’s running, working out, all that type of stuff and that generally allows me to clear my head and get back to a good spot.
Q: Your breakfast over the winter with Darryl Strawberry?
A: He was in camp for about a week earlier this spring, we’ve been able to spend some time together. What a thoughtful person he is is the first thing that jumps out, he’s very thoughtful about everything that’s happened to him, everything he’s gone through in his life and also about how he can impact the lives of others. It’s been really impressive to get to know him.
Q: Will you be having a breakfast with Doc Gooden?
A: I’d love to have a breakfast with Doc, that’d be a lot of fun.
Q: You used to hide your Walkman under your pillow growing up.
A: I was a sports-enthused and Mets-enthused little kid. And like every other kid had a bedtime and my mom would tuck me in at night, but I wanted to listen to the rest of the game. So I’d hide the Walkman and the headphones that come with it under the pillow, and then when my mom would leave the room, would take it out and turn on the game whether it was the Mets game or the Knicks game in the winters, and listen to the rest of the game. That’s kinda how I (chuckle) would ultimately go to sleep at night generally with headphones on.
Q: She never suspected anything?
A: You know, that’s a great question. She had to, right, but probably figured that it wasn’t hurting anything (laugh) and I was getting rest anyway.
Q: Who were your favorite Knicks, Rangers, Giants and Mets?
A: We’ll start with Mets. So we’re talking like those mid-’90s teams before (Mike) Piazza came. It was a kind of a rotating group of players. I remember my first favorite player was Kevin Elster because I really liked shortstops. And then when Rey Ordonez came he became a favorite player, and then when Piazza came, I think like most Mets fans or a lot of Mets fans, he became my favorite player pretty quickly.
Q: How about the Knicks?
A: I was a John Starks guy, I loved John Starks. Had a bunch of John Starks jerseys, had a John Starks poster in my room.
Q: Giants?
A: I loved Tiki Barber. These were kinda like the Dave Brown Giants teams a little bit. I remember I had a Dave Brown poster in my room when I was a kid.
Q: Rangers?
A: Adam Graves was my favorite Ranger.
Q: Why were you so drawn to shortstops?
A: I think because I wanted to be one (laugh). As a little kid I would try to play shortstop in whatever league I was in at that point. I grew up in Yorkville, so I played Yorkville for a little while and then I played a couple of other [teams] around town, and then ultimately for my school.
Q: You were a shortstop all the while?
A: By the time I got to high school I pitched.
Q: What was your velocity?
A: Not high enough (laugh). I was command over velo.
Q: Did you collect baseball cards?
A: I had a lot of baseball cards, and I loved baseball cards. I don’t think I was ever dedicated to truly call myself a collector. But I loved having them, I loved opening the pack and then I’d put them in a couple of big boxes and occasionally go through them.
Q: What happened to them?
A: (Laugh) Like every baseball card collection that little kids have eventually they get thrown out I think. I don’t know where they are right now.
Q: Saddest day as a Mets fan?
A: Probably Kenny Rogers ball four. That ’99 team, even more so than the next year, the Subway Series, but that ’99 team I thought was such an exciting team, a great team. That series against the Braves was really an epic series with a number of exciting games. The back-and-forth of that Game 6, to have it end the way it did was a tough one.
Q: Favorite baseball memories as a kid?
A: I vaguely remember my first game and I remember it because Dave Magadan hit a walk-off homer. I was fortunate to be at a couple of the playoff games in ’99 and 2000, I was at the Todd Pratt walk-off game, was at the Benny Agbayani walk-off, I was at the grand-slam single game. I have all those memories from those teams that were really special.
Q: How many games a year would you go to?
A: 10-15, probably.
Q: When you sent out letters to major league clubs and league officials, how many did you send out and did you get any responses?
A: This isn’t hyperbole, I literally sent out hundreds. There’s a book called the Baseball America Directory that listed every person who worked in baseball, major league and minor league. This was sort of pre-team websites that have this information, so this was the way you got it. I just went through that book and wrote letters to pretty much everyone in that book multiple times over. And some people were exceptionally nice and got back to me, and some people wrote me letters back, some people called me on the phone to offer advice. Most understandably did not, people in baseball receive these letters all the time. But a couple of them did, and it was really impactful for me, the advice I got and that they would take the time to actually reach out to me.
Q: Any one resonate with you?
A: A gentleman named Jon Mercurio who was the director of baseball operations with the Pirates at the time, I wrote him and he reached out to me and we began a dialogue and that ultimately led to an internship for the Pirates in player development down at their Pirate City complex, which was really beneficial for me and taught me a lot.
Q: Did you write to the Mets?
A: I did write to the Mets, absolutely. I’m sure I wrote to pretty much everyone at that time, and look, eventually I got an internship with the Mets. It took me a couple of years, but after I graduated college and worked at the Arizona Fall League, I was able to get an internship with the Mets working for John Ricco and Adam Fisher, Craig Marino and Omar, and that was a wonderful opportunity and taught me a lot about how the industry works.
Q: You actually sent out a letter to the Yankees as well?
A: I did (laugh). When you’re trying to break into the game, it’s tough to limit your options.
Q: Did you hear back from them?
A: I don’t remember ever hearing back from them, I’ll put it that way (laugh).
Q: Did the Mets get back to you?
A: At some point, yes, I honestly can’t remember when or who exactly it was who first got back to me, but at some point yes because I was able to apply for their internship program and ultimately land an internship there.
Q: What was the favorite article that your wrote as David H. Stearns for the Harvard Crimson?
A: I had a great experience writing for the paper there. I loved it, covered a bunch of different sports at various times. I wrote about football for a little while I was there, and I think, if I’m remembering correctly, I wrote a game story when Harvard beat Yale and clinched an Ivy title. That’s the one that would stick out to me.
Q: You didn’t aspire to be a sportswriter, did you?
A: There was a time I thought about it — and maybe sometimes I still do! I like writing, and I love sports. And so, if you have those interests, it’s natural to try to combine them. Ultimately, I wanted to be on the team side because I love the competition of it, and I wanted to be attached to the wins and losses and be as close to baseball in particular as I could be.
Q: You interviewed Ryan Fitzpatrick and wrote about him, right?
A: I did.
Q: What was he like back then?
A: From what I remember, pretty similar to what he’s like now. He was very respectful, a good guy, he’s got a good sense of humor. It’s been pretty incredible to watch his career path, and what he’s been able to accomplish has been fun to watch.
Q: Do you still take the 7 train to work?
A: I did over the winter. I was staying in Manhattan, and I would take the 7 train out there during the offseason.
Q: You won’t do that now?
A: We’re not gonna be in Manhattan.
Q: Were you recognized?
A: Very, very rarely. Maybe just a handful of times.
Q: Favorite New York City things?
A: I think the gardens in northern Central Park are a hidden gem in New York. I love biking up the West Side Highway up to the George Washington Bridge and then back down. Those are sorta two New Yorky things that come to mind.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: George Washington; Jackie Robinson; Frank Sinatra.
Q: Why George Washington?
A: You could have picked any Founding Father and I think it would have been a phenomenal conversation (laugh). I probably could have filled up the table with many of them, but I think having an understanding of the decisions and challenges, literally life or death, and history-changing, world-changing types of decisions would certainly be a fascinating conversation.
Q: Sinatra?
A: He lived his life in the public for so long, did it in a mostly respectful fashion. Always curious about how entertainers balance the public side of their world versus the private side of their world,
Q: Jackie Robinson?
A: His place in baseball and world history. He’s the preeminent example of someone who’s changed the world through sport, and would love to have that conversation.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: I’m not a huge movie guy, but I love the classic baseball movies, I think “Bull Durham” is probably my favorite baseball movie. Non-baseball movies, there was a movie called “Wall-E.” I’ve always thought of that as a very creative and really good movie.
Q: Favorite singer/entertainer?
A: I grew up listening to things like R.E.M. and Pearl Jam and even Billy Joel. So kinda anything in that genre works for me.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: It’s tough to beat a good steak. Steak, mashed potatoes and a vegetable with it is a pretty good meal.
Q: What drives you?
A: I think in baseball what drives me is I love the sport, I think it’s a wonderful game, and I enjoy winning. And I’m a competitive person. What drives me to do this is I love being around the game every single day. I love what it teaches us about ourselves. The intricacies of the game. And then what drives me in this position is I’m a very competitive person and I want to win. So that’s why I do this.
Q: What will your emotions be on Opening Day, especially since the Brewers will be in town?
A: Every Opening Day is special. It’s always one of the most memorable days of the year. You always get a special feeling on Opening Day. This Opening Day for me will certainly be different, getting to do it as an employee of the Mets, as a leader with the Mets. I think we’ll have some additional meaning to it, that it will be against the team I used to work for, it’s gonna be a little strange. But at the end of the day, I’m gonna enjoy the day and certainly you’re gonna root like crazy for us to come out on top.
Q: What is the strength of this Mets team?
A: I think we’re a pretty balanced team and I think we’re pretty deep. So I think we’re in a spot right now where we should be able to handle most of what 162 games throws at us.
Q: What do you hope the fans say about this team when they watch?
A: I hope that as the fans watch the team over the course of the summer that they really enjoy the product. At the end of the day, we’re here to put a team on the field that our fans enjoy. That our fans can be proud of. That’s why we’re here. Winning is a big part of that. How an organization conducts itself as a whole is a big part of it. Hopefully our fans will be proud of the team and the product that we’re putting on the field.
Q: Do you believe in visualization?
A: I think it can be a useful tool.
Q: Have you visualized yet what this town will be like if the Mets win a World Series?
A: No, I haven’t, I think I need to stay more focused on the present, and the work that needs to get done to help us hopefully get there. I think I understand naturally, just having grown up here, what a championship would mean to this organization and the fan base and the community. But I haven’t spent a lot of time closing my eyes and actually visualizing it.
Q: What message would you want to give to Mets fans, or impatient Mets fans?
A: I think the message that I’d give our fans is we’re working to do everything we can, from ownership on down, to make them proud of being Mets fans. To get this organization to the point so that when they wear a Mets hat or a Mets shirt, and fans of other teams see that, that those fans silently think, “Man, I wish we were Mets fans. That’s a great fan base, that’s a great organization, that’s what we want to be a part of.” If we can get to that point, if we can get our fans proud of being Mets fans, not only for what we do on the field but for how we impact our community, we’ll have done our jobs.
