Podcast Summary

Podcast: Pablo Torre Finds Out
Host: Pablo Torre (Le Batard & Friends)
Episode: Living the Dream Job: What It's Like to Run Your Childhood Team, with David Stearns
Date: February 11, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Pablo Torre sits down with David Stearns, the President of Baseball Operations for the New York Mets—and longtime friend—to explore what it’s actually like to run your childhood team. Their candid and often nostalgic conversation runs through college memories, the origins of Stearns’ baseball career, behind-the-scenes front office decision-making, and the unique psychology of being a Mets executive (and fan) in New York. The pair discuss the burdens and joys of high expectations, the mechanics of baseball leadership, public pressure, and the emotional ride of the Mets’ dramatic recent season—culminating in landing superstar Juan Soto.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. A Friendship Rooted in Sports & Journalism

• Pablo and David’s Harvard Days:
  • Reminiscing about the launch of Facebook during their freshman year (00:34).
  • Shared experiences as writers for the college paper, The Harvard Crimson; recalling a notorious column David wrote critiquing the men’s hockey team and the aftermath (04:22–05:49).
  • “I wrote a column talking about the lackluster play of the men’s hockey team… I don’t think they appreciated that.” – David Stearns (04:47).

2. Childhood & the Dream Job

• David’s Mets Fandom:
  • Grew up a passionate Mets supporter, dreaming of a career in baseball management—not imagining he’d ever actually run the Mets (07:10).
  • “The thought that I could one day be running the team I grew up passionately rooting for would have seemed absurd to me. Nuts. Crazy.” – David Stearns (07:10).
• Mets Fan Psychology:
  • Explanation of the perennial underdog, “little brother” mentality compared to the Yankees (08:48–10:17).

3. Favorite and Saddest Mets Moments

• Most Painful Fan Memory:
  • Discussing the crushing loss in the 1999 NLCS—Kenny Rogers’ walk-off walk.
  • “That may have been the roughest moment of my Met fandom.” – David Stearns (12:06).

4. Early Baseball Career & Climbing the Ranks

• Minor League Beginnings:
  • Interned with Brooklyn Cyclones; hands-on work, including power-washing bathrooms, pulling tarp, and running in mascot races (13:38–15:19).
  • “You are doing everything and anything… Power washing bathrooms after the game, pulling tarp…” – David Stearns (13:44).
• Persistence & Breaking In:
  • Sent “hundreds” of letters to MLB teams after college before landing an internship.
  • Built his network gradually, leading to a full-time position at the MLB commissioner’s office (16:24–17:23).
  • “My career was not linear. It took me four internships to finally get a full-time job.” – David Stearns (15:46).

5. Front Office Philosophy & the Evolution of Analytics

• The “Moneyball” Era:
  • Read the book in high school; inspired by Theo Epstein’s unconventional GM path.
  • Not overtly stats-oriented; describes niche as being skilled at managing complex information and understanding baseball economics from multiple angles (19:04–19:37).
• Decision-Making Maturity:
  • Learned from a diverse slate of mentors—each with different approaches—leading to a flexible, balanced decision style.
  • Emphasizes being “even-keeled” and making unemotional, objective decisions (25:20–26:34).
  • “Making unemotional decisions is helpful… Once you get to the decision making process, being as factual, objective, and unemotional leads to better decisions.” – David Stearns (25:57).

6. Leadership at the Brewers and Building a Winner

• Strategic Risks in Milwaukee:
  • Balanced owner’s aversion to long rebuilds with need for aggressive moves (e.g., Christian Yelich trade), guiding the Brewers to multiple playoff berths (23:03–25:10).

7. Mets Tenure and the ‘Cohen Era’

• Steve Cohen’s Ownership:
  • Describes Cohen’s and his wife’s lifelong Mets fandom and their civic vision for the team (27:49–28:14).
• Getting the Call:
  • Stearns signs his contract with the Mets in a quiet, solitary moment in his attic office, emblematic of his understated temperament (28:34–29:36).
  • “I was just sitting up there. By myself. And I was like, all right, here it is. And so I just… I clicked it.” – David Stearns (29:32).

8. The New York Spotlight & Staying Grounded

• Living with Pressure:
  • Despite the glare of New York media, Stearns finds comparative anonymity in NYC off the field and consciously avoids sports talk radio and social media to focus on his job (30:28–32:44).
  • “I just ignore it… I am not on social media. I do not listen to talk radio. I am grateful that talk radio exists in this town because it provokes the passion of our fan base.” – David Stearns (32:08).
• Grimace Mania:
  • Pablo recounts the viral “Grimace” first pitch and the Mets’ subsequent win streak—David, entirely offline, is oblivious to the meme until it’s explained to him (33:32–34:23).
  • “Had no idea who Grimace was.” – David Stearns (33:51).

9. 2024 Mets Rollercoaster & Civic Joy

• Turning the Season Around:
  • After “Grimace Night,” the Mets become the best team in baseball; Citi Field transforms into the city’s best sports show (36:23–39:28).
  • “For a period, we were the best sports experience in America.” – David Stearns (36:54).
• Celebrations & Staying Cool:
  • Even as the team and the city celebrate, Stearns maintains his signature calm, standing on the periphery (“your hands are in your pockets”) during clubhouse champagne celebrations (39:36–40:04).

10. Off-Field Surrealism & Legacy

• Connecting with Mets Legends:
  • Personal highlights include breakfast with Darryl Strawberry (“he signs texts with a strawberry emoji”) and building relationships with iconic Mets of past generations (40:55–42:17).
  • “That, for me, is really cool… That group of humans thinks what we’re doing is really cool.” – David Stearns (42:17).

11. The Juan Soto Coup & Baseball Economics

• Landing a Superstar:
  • Details the rationale behind signing Juan Soto to the richest contract in sports ($765M/15 years), emphasizing Soto’s youth and historic productivity (43:13–44:32).
  • “We knew this was going to break all sorts of records… You had one shot at this type of investment, and we put our best foot forward and fortunately, we got it.” – David Stearns (44:32).
• Balancing Small-Market Smarts with Big-Market Muscle:
  • Explains the advantages of each; stresses the importance of flexibility and wise spending, even with financial might (“Money is an advantage in this game… but only if you spend it wisely…”) (46:06–47:26).

12. Fan Versus Executive

• Balancing Identity:
  • Acknowledges that his “16-year-old Met fan” self might criticize him, but stresses the need to separate personal fandom from professional responsibility (47:51–48:38).
  • “The younger version of me probably thinks I’m doing a shitty job. So I can’t blame a fan when they think I should be doing better.” – David Stearns (47:58).

13. Signature Calm, On and Off the Field

• Reflection:
  • Stearns reaffirms his even-keeled nature, saving emotional investment for being a Knicks fan—his “other psychosis” (48:50–49:27).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Kenny Rogers’ walk-off walk:
“That may have been the roughest moment of my Met fandom… There’s no way the Mets make the playoffs without Kenny Rogers down the stretch there, and then that is unfortunately his Met’s legacy.” – David Stearns (12:06)

On breaking into baseball:
“My career was not linear. It took me four internships to finally get a full-time job.” – David Stearns (15:46)

On balancing emotion in decision-making:
“Making unemotional decisions is helpful… Once you get to the decision making process, being as factual, objective, and unemotional leads to better decisions.” – David Stearns (25:57)

On living the dream, but staying measured:
“I was just sitting up there. By myself. And I was like, all right, here it is. And so I just… I clicked it.” – David Stearns (29:32)
“It feels like you’ve become acquainted with spending as it might relate to those next seven to ten years. Like, this is the time to make the biggest signing in sports history.” – Pablo Torre (44:44)

On civic pride and legacy:
“David Wright and Darryl Strawberry and Keith Hernandez and John Franco… they’re proud to be associated with what we’re doing— that, for me, is really cool.” – David Stearns (42:17)

Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:34] – Reminiscing on Harvard days and college journalism
• [04:22–05:49] – The infamous men’s hockey column
• [07:10] – Stearns on the unlikelihood of running the Mets
• [12:06] – Kenny Rogers, 1999 NLCS heartbreak
• [13:38–16:24] – Minor league grind; sending “hundreds” of letters for internships
• [19:04–19:37] – Analytics and managing information over being a “pure stats” guy
• [25:20–26:34] – On making objective, calm decisions as an executive
• [28:34–29:36] – Signing the Mets contract in an attic office
• [32:02–32:44] – Avoiding media/fan noise; focusing on the job
• [33:32–34:23] – The “Grimace” viral streak and Stearns’ obliviousness
• [36:23–39:28] – 2024 Mets resurgence, Citi Field atmosphere
• [43:13–44:32] – Juan Soto’s record-shattering contract
• [47:51–48:38] – Weighing the fan vs. executive inside him
• [48:50–49:27] – Stearns on his even keel, except as a Knicks fan

Tone and Style

Warm, dryly humorous, and introspective—a blend of Pablo’s playful curiosity and David’s understated candor. Stearns repeatedly comes off as calm, methodical, and unflappable, while Pablo takes a more animated, self-deprecating “fan/journalist” role, drawing out both the human and operational insights of leadership in high-stakes sports.

Conclusion

The episode delivers a rare window into running a major sports franchise—rooted in both personal history and professional acumen. Listeners come away understanding both the romance and reality of following a dream in sports, the persistence it takes to get there, and the constant balancing act between the business, the fans, and the human drama at the heart of the game.