Money won’t fix all your problems. But is sure as hell helps.
Steve Cohen, the owner of the Mets, has a bunch of money. His net worth at the time of this post is 17.5 billion dollars.
That’s an absurd number. But this is a capitalist country and he played the game and won. So Cohen gets to buy all the priceless art he wants, including his favorite baseball team.
In 2012 he bought a minority stake in the Mets. Then in 2020 he became the majority owner. Mets fans who suffered through years of anemic spending, misinformation, and Ponzi schemes from previous ownership were rightfully ecstatic.
Once in control, Cohen immediately started making noise. He traded for and then re-signed Francisco Lindor. The Mets then appeared to come out of nowhere to sign Max Scherzer. Freaking Justin Verlander started for the Mets yesterday.
After years of not bidding for high-priced free agents, suddenly the Mets were the biggest swinging dick in town. Now if you fuck around and try to outbid the Mets, you will find out.
So naturally, Mets fans have taken to Cohen. They call him Uncle Steve to further the fantasy of a rich uncle benefactor. Cohen has played along and even interacted with fans on twitter. He comes across as a genuinely level-headed and happy guy.
All this excitement has led to an unsettling trend of Mets fans tagging Cohen in tweets. Pity the person who has to go through all of Cohen’s mentions. Mets fans are constantly crying at, pleading to, and begging their Uncle Steve for something. It’s not a good look.
First off, he doesn’t need your advice on the Mets. He’s got people for that. Qualified people. Not people with the word ‘turd’ in their handle.
Two, he’s the CEO of an investment firm and its various subsidiaries. Cohen is an active philanthropist with several leadership roles at non-profits. He’s also the President and CEO of the Mets. Bottom-line is dude’s busy.
Third, come on man. Why are you crying to the owner every time the Mets lose a game?
An owner should supply the organization with the capital, leadership, and direction it needs to succeed. Owners pay bills, they don’t throw curveballs.
Speaking of which, did you know the Mets lost 138.5 million dollars last year? Even though they brought in over 244 million in revenue, which doesn’t include over 80 million from its local cable network and 60 million from national broadcasting deals, they still lost 138.5 million dollars!
It’s not that the Mets are a fiscally incompetent organization. It’s that they’re on the hook for nearly 500 million in players’ salaries with luxury tax payments. And it costs money to run the Mets. Like, a lot of money.
So stop pleading with Steve Cohen to save you. That’s not his gig. Stop thinking about what you don’t have and start enjoying what you do.
We have an owner that wants this team to have perennial success. He’s talked about rebuilding the farm system and that’s how you have long-term success. Every big league club is seeking the ever-elusive “sustainability”. I’m speaking of the clubs that give a shit, not the Reds.
We have an owner that cares now. Steve Cohen is an actual Mets fan. He’s well aware the Mets haven’t won the big one since 1986. He’s got the bankroll and the drive to bring the team back to the promised land. But more importantly, he actually cares. And that drive, that passion, that love that drives his Mets fandom, is something you can’t buy.
Notes From The Last Six Games
Let’s just not. Other than Verlander being the man last night, those games never happened.
