As Mets’ World Series drought agonizingly hits 40 years, David Stearns must reward Steve Cohen’s patience

On the weekend they are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their last champions, the Mets must dedicate themselves to getting back to the business of being their 1980s version and not the 1980s Yankees.

Among the reasons the Mets also were set up this weekend as the biggest sellers at the trade deadline is that the current roster had overtones from the worst years of The Boss — when Steinbrenner kept changing top executives and managers in the 1980s, which led to a 14-year playoff drought and general humiliation.

These Mets are a Frankenstein’s monster of two owners, six heads of baseball operations and you might lose count of managers and coaches. They have been as stable as a Kardashian marriage. One veteran Met during this season waved his hand across the breadth of the clubhouse and asked, “What are we?” It was a way to suggest that the club lacks identity, a style of play, an area that could be leaned on in tough times. They are parts, not a cohesive, well-conceived team.

David Stearns stressed “run prevention” as the area he wanted to improve from the disastrous collapse of last year to this season, and these Mets are allowing more runs per game (4.6) than in 2025 (4.4).