With the 2021 season now officially on the books and the New York Mets falling short of their baseball goals in October in Steve Cohen’s inaugural year as the new owner, it’s important that we take a look. back to see exactly where this franchise has stumbled and what caused them to fail to meet their high playoff expectations. Many would say that the two main causes were the lack of offensive production and the lack of glamor in the management of the game. But I would say that a third factor equally detrimental to the Mets’ underperformance in 2021 was their lack of stability. in the positions of general manager / team president.

The position of general manager or team president in baseball is always very important as they are the primary authority when it comes to deciding what talent to acquire for a ball club through trade or free agency. . It is essentially the architects who put together the majority of the roster and talent on the team and decide who will be the manager of the ball club that will lead that talent on the battlefield.

The Mets, as we all know, have had two general managers in the past year who have had issues off the field that have led to their reprimands before and during the regular season in Jared Porter and Zack Scott. In their last five seasons, the Mets will have hired four different managers (counting the new hires they’re about to hire) and five different people who have also served as general managers or president of baseball operations. This lack of continuity and instability in their front office and management staff must end if they are to create and maintain a winning gaming culture under Steve Cohen’s new tenure.

For me, this is also the number one reason the Mets underperformed in 2021.

Theo Epstein provides the Mets organization with the stability, experience and skills to bring this franchise its first World Series title in over 35 years.

If you’re the Mets and new owner Steve Cohen, the most effective and efficient way to address this instability at the top of your organization is to hire the best executives. Someone who is knowledgeable with a proven track record of success and someone you know has a knack for bringing proven winning talent and installing a proven winning baseball culture. For me, that person must be none other than Theo Epstein.

Epstein has already “killed the dragon” twice in the past 18 years, bringing the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs their first World Series championships in 86 and 108 years respectively as head of baseball operations and General manager. Both franchises were considered “cursed” and any chance of redemption for them on the biggest stage in the world was considered hopeless before his intervention. Through the building of a methodical and meticulous roster, along with timely free agent signings and in-season trading deadlines, Epstein was able to change that narrative and the fortunes of franchises and their loyalists. fans. To me, he’s the perfect fit for what the Mets lack.

Keep in mind that the Mets, as a franchise, have been around for about sixty years now. In those 60 years, they have only two World Series championships to show and have NEVER finished first in their division for two consecutive years. Despite all the strong teams they had in the 1980s, they also never made the playoffs for three consecutive seasons in their franchise history. Hard to believe but it’s true.

While not quite on par with the Chicago Cubs or the Boston Red Sox when it comes to championship droughts, the Mets’ record of success still looks pretty bleak throughout six decades. Epstein would be the right person to come in and turn it around, both at the minor league player development level as well as at the big league roster assembly level.

The only problem the Mets would face when acquiring Theo Epstein would be meeting Epstein’s requests to return to the front office game. Epstein held his roles with the Red Sox and Cubs for nine years each. He recently stepped down as president of the Cubs team in November 2020 and has worked as a consultant for the MLB ever since. Many of those close to him say the past two decades at the front office have taken a lot from Epstein, both mentally and physically. The only way he would consider returning would be if an owner offered him a small percentage of the team as a stake. It’s similar to what Derek Jeter has in his arrangement with the Florida Marlins.

The big question is will Steve Cohen be willing to part with a 1% or 2% stake in the Mets franchise to bring in a cadre that could instantly bring credibility and stability to the Mets? Given that Epstein will soon be only 48 by the end of 2021, it’s possible that offering him a 1.5-2% stake in the Mets ball club might not be such a bad idea, as long as he agrees to stay on board for 12 to 15 guaranteed years as president of baseball operations.

If Epstein continues to work his magic and brings a nice 10-year spell with the Mets, consistently making the ball club a team of over 90 playoff wins with a world championship or two under their belt in that span. , I would say why not give him a small percentage of ownership in the franchise? Financially, it will only be beneficial to both Cohen and Epstein if this outcome occurs, as the Mets will be seen in a new light by the rest of the league as a lasting franchise, thus increasing the total value of the team. ‘a monetary amount. point of view.

Both Cohen and Epstein can benefit a lot from this increase in the value of the franchise if this scenario comes true. More importantly, we the fans will finally experience a sense of joy and pride and a consistent level of quality play that has been missing for so long with this Mets franchise. It seems like a win-win situation for all parties involved.

The only question that really remains now is whether Theo Epstein and the new owner of the Mets are both ready to take this bold leap and bet on each other in the future?