Remembering Four Time Mets All Star Catcher & Coach- John Stearns (1951 - 2022)
Stearns became a star baseball & football player at the University of Colorado.
In 1971 his older brother was drafted by the AL New York club, also as a catcher but never made the bog leagues.
In 1972 Stearns was drafted by the NFL's Buffalo Bills as a defensive back but did not sign.
The next year in 1973, he was the first pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in the MLB draft, he was the second overall pick after behind Clyde Wright. Stearns was chosen ahead of future Hall of Famers, Robin Yount & Dave Winfield. .jpg)
In 1973 Bob Boone had become the main catcher in Philadelphia & had a long future ahead of him. He would be with the Phillies through 1981. By the 1974 off season, the Mets catcher Jerry Grote was 31 years old & the wear & tears of catching started to catch up to him. Also, the Mets believed a sist in reliever's Tug McGraw’s arm was going to ruin his career. So, the Mets felt a need to trade McGraw & get a futire replacement for Grote.
Mets Career: In 1975 Stearns began his Mets career as the backup to Jerry Grote. On April 16, 1975, he started his first game behind the plate, catching Jon Matlack in a 3-2 loss in St. Louis . Stearns doubled off John Deny for his first Mets hit.
On April 30th, in his fourth Mets game, he hit his first career HR, coming off the Cubs' Ray Burris at Wrigley Field in a 7-4 Mets loss.
O September 23rd, he came to bat in the top of the 8th inning, in with the Mets trailing the Cubs 6-5 facing reliever Darold Knowles. With Jerry Grote in Stearns doubled to tie the game. He scored on Felix Millan's base hit as the game winning run in the 8-6 Met win.
1976: In 1976 he was sent back down to AAA Tidewater, where he hit .310 finishing in the top ten for the batting title. He got called back up to the Mets in September, getting 18 hits in his first 13 games back. He ended up taking over the catching duties from Jerry Grote & Ron Hodges the rest of the month.
On September 8th, he had a three hit, three RBI Day which included a HR at Wrigley Field in a Mets 11-5 win. Two days later he drove in a pair of runs in St. Louis, helping the Mets & Jerry Koosman to his 19th win of the year, in the Mets to a 4-2 win.
Koosman's 20th Victory: On September 16th he was behind the plate as Jerry Koosman won his twentieth game of the year. It was the first time in his fabulous career that Kooz won twenty games. Koosman pitched a one run four hitter that evening, in which Stearns drew three walks & scored a run.
Stearns finished the year batting .262 with 2 HRs 6 doubles a 364 on base % & 10 RBIs. Behind the plate he threw out 53% of would-be base stealers.
1977 All Star Game: That years' Mid-Summer Classic was held in the Bronx, New York. Tom Seaver had made the staff but had been traded from the Mets just a month ago & was now in a Reds uniform.
Trivia: All time in his career he was hit by 25 pitches (11th on the Mets all-time list).
Stearns caught 127 games behind the plate (5th in the league). He was second in the NL in put outs (742) putting up a .982 fielding % while throwing out 40% of runners attempting to steal on him.
He had a slow April, hitting just .197 with just two extra base hits & two RBIs. But in the week of May 7th- mid-May he drove in runs in six of seven games, May 7th-May 13th.
On May 21st, he hit a HR off the Phillies Randy Lerch in a 6-5 win where Steve Henderson had a walk off double off Tug McGraw.
.jpg)
The Mets were leading the game 6-3 in the 9th inning, with two men on & one out the Pirates Dave Parker lined a triple to left field making it a one run game.
When the Philadelphia Phillies came to town, they actually thanked Stearns for standing up to their rival, the big not too popular, Dave Parker.
Stolen Base Record for Catchers: On September 8th Stearns went into the Record book, when he stole second base in the 1st inning of a game against the Montreal Expos.
Stearns stole his 24th base of the season against pitcher Bob James & catcher Gary Carter. The stolen base broke the old National League modern day record of 23 set in 1903 by Johnny Kling.
In 1978 he graced the front cover of the Mets Yearbook. Young Mets stars Stearns & Lee Mazzilli had become the new faces of a struggling franchise.
On the season, Stearns batted .264 with a .364 on base % & led the team in doubles (24). He had career highs in HRs (15) RBIs (73) & games behind the plate (141).
Defensively he was second in the league in put outs, assists, errors & stolen bases allowed. He was third in catching runners stealing (53) 38% with a 985 fielding %.
1979 Season:
Brawl with Gary Carter: In the fourth game of the 1979 season, Stearns started a bench clearing brawl with the Montreal Expos. It began as Gary Carter tried to score on Mets pitcher Pete Falcone's throwing error.
1979 All Star Game: Stearns was selected to the 1979 All-star team, even though he was only batting .242 at the break. The game was held at Seattle's Kingdome.
Stearns was on an even more crowded & talented squad of NL catchers, joining Bob Boone, Ted Simmons, Johnny Bench & Carter with whom he had had the fight with earlier in the season.
On a bad Mets team, he was certainly their best everyday player. At the end of May he went on a 13-game hit streak, topped by a three hit, three RBI Day in Atlanta on June 3rd.
Walk Off Base Hit: On a Wednesday matinee, day game at Shea on July 11th, Stearns came to bat in the bottom of the 10th inning in a 3-3 tie with the Dodgers. With the bases loaded, Stearns singled to left field off the Dodgers' Dennis Lewellyn, for the game winning hit scoring Lee Mazzilli, thrilling the 11,400 Shea fans.
Stearns drove in runs in three straight games from there. At the end of September, he drove in runs in four games of the final week.
That year the Mets finished last 63-99. Stearns finished the season with a career best 131 hits & 29 doubles. He only hit .243, with 9 HRs & a .312 on base %. He was second on the team with & 15 stolen bases & 66 RBIs.
1980 Season: In 1980 he started out well driving in runs in six of his first ten games. He had eight multi game hits in his first 15 games. He was batting .348 at the beginning of May.
On May 28th, the Mets were down 5-0 to the Cards in St. Lous. John came to bat with the bases loaded & delivered a two-run single, the Mets scored six runs in the inning going on to a 6-5 win.
Tackling Drunk Fans On the Field: In a June 12th 6-5 win over the Dodgers, two drunken fans stormed the field. Security guards were chasing the two drunks around but were not able to nab them. Bad Dude grew irritable. He left his position behind the plate ran into left field & tackled one of them down to the ground. That ruckus ended right there.
.jpg)
1980 All Star Game: He was still hitting over .290 into July and made his third All Star team. The game was held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Once again Johnny Bench was the starter & the Expos' Gary Carter were also on the squad.
Stearns came into the game in the 4th inning, catching hometown All Star pitcher, Bob Welch. Stearns came to bat in the game for the first time in his All-Star career, going 0-1 grounding out in the 5th inning against the American League's Tommy John. The Nl won the game 4-2.
After the All-Star game he continued to hit well, with four multi-hit games. On July 25th he drove in both Mets runs in Pat Zachary's six hit shutout over the Reds. The next day he broke his finger on a foul tip, which ended his season.
.jpg)
He finished up 1980 hitting a solid .285 with no HRs 25 doubles a .346 on base % & 45 RBIs playing in just 91 games.
1981 Strike Season: Stearns missed the first two weeks of the season. He slowly came back to play more at third & first base. He was back behind the plate in May & started hitting well, he hit safely in nine of ten games which included two four hit games. Then the MLB baseball strike stopped play.
On September 18th he hit an 8th inning two run game winning HR off Steve Carlton to beat the Philadelphia Phillies.
Stearns finished up hitting .271 in 80 games, stealing 12 bases, but his power production was down with one HR & 12 doubles. Behind the plate he only caught 66 games with a .985 fielding % & throwing out 36% of would-be base stealers.
1982 Injuries & last All Star Appearance: In 1982 he came back strong & .313 in the first month. On April 24th, he drove in the only run of a game against the Montreal Expos, with an RBI double off Ray Burris.
In May, he hit a HR off San Francisco’s Greg Minton, stopping Minton’s streak of 254 innings without allowing a long ball. On June 20th, Stearns tripled in the top of the 10th inning at St. Louis off relief ace Bruce Sutter, he drove in two runs leading the Mets to a 5-4 win. He was hitting well over .300 in the first half making his fourth & final All-Star appearance.
After the break Stearns had elbow problems sidelining him for the rest of the year. He finished the 1982 season up with a career best .293 average, tying for the team lead with Mookie Wilson with 25 doubles. He had 103 hits hitting 4 HRs 3 triples a .349 on base % & 17 stolen bases.
Defensively in 81 games he threw out a career best 40% of would-be base stealers.
John Stearns is fourth on the Mets all-time list in games caught behind the plate (699). He had a
.985 fielding% throwing out 37% of would-be base stealers.
He went to the Blue Jays as an AA Manager (1990-1991) He then moved on to the Reds in 1992 as a scout. In 1993 he became a broadcaster with ESPN. In 1994 he became a manger in the Appalachian league & won manager of the year.
He enjoyed getting two to consecutive Mets post seasons, something he never got to do as a Mets player.
Stearns's reaction was shouting "The Monster is out of the cage!!" It became a rallying cry for the entire series, which the Mets won four games to one.
Hobbies: Stearns is an avid golfer, a love he picked up as a youngster, caddying for his mother.
Honors: Stearns is a member of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
Passing: John Stearns passed away on September 15th, 2022, in Denver, Colorado. He was 71
years old.
Joe Torre: "I am so glad we had a chance to talk at Citi Field a few weeks ago. No one played the game harder than John. He never came to the park in a bad mood. All he wanted to do was win. To be a four time All Star is something special.
Bad Dude: As a defensive back, Stearns felt he had to hit harder than anyone else on the defense. So when Sports Illustrated asked how he'd like to be descried on the field, he said as a "Bad Dude". The name stuck & certainly played out his career living up to the moniker.
In 1972 Stearns was drafted by the NFL's Buffalo Bills as a defensive back but did not sign. The next year in 1973, he was the first pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in the MLB draft, he was the second overall pick after behind Clyde Wright. Stearns was chosen ahead of future Hall of Famers, Robin Yount & Dave Winfield.
Winfield had also been chosen after Stearns in the NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Stearns was sent right up to AA level but only hit .241. Behind the plate, he had seven passed balls charged to him as he a hard time adjusting. The next year things got better, he batted .343 and got promoted to AAA, joining Gary Carter as a catcher in the 1974 International League All Star Game.
MLB Debut: He got promoted to the Phillies big league squad on September 22nd, in his first at bay he got his first MLB hit, coming off Mike Torrez. Later in the game he reached on an error. He played in just one game that month.
Stearns was sent right up to AA level but only hit .241. Behind the plate, he had seven passed balls charged to him as he a hard time adjusting. The next year things got better, he batted .343 and got promoted to AAA, joining Gary Carter as a catcher in the 1974 International League All Star Game.
MLB Debut: He got promoted to the Phillies big league squad on September 22nd, in his first at bay he got his first MLB hit, coming off Mike Torrez. Later in the game he reached on an error. He played in just one game that month.
.jpg)
In 1973 Bob Boone had become the main catcher in Philadelphia & had a long future ahead of him. He would be with the Phillies through 1981. By the 1974 off season, the Mets catcher Jerry Grote was 31 years old & the wear & tears of catching started to catch up to him. Also, the Mets believed a sist in reliever's Tug McGraw’s arm was going to ruin his career. So, the Mets felt a need to trade McGraw & get a futire replacement for Grote. In December 1974 the Mets traded Tug McGraw, Don Hahn & outfield prospect Dave Schneck to the Phillies in exchange for John Stearns, Del Unser & Mac Scarce.
Looking back: Stearns said he looked at the lineup card one day, saw his name was on it, he also saw Tom Seaver was pitching. In the 1st inning Pete Rose stepped in as he gave a sign to Seaver. That’s when it hit him; he was now in the big leagues.
Mets Career: In 1975 Stearns began his Mets career as the backup to Jerry Grote. On April 16, 1975, he started his first game behind the plate, catching Jon Matlack in a 3-2 loss in St. Louis . Stearns doubled off John Deny for his first Mets hit.
On April 30th, in his fourth Mets game, he hit his first career HR, coming off the Cubs' Ray Burris at Wrigley Field in a 7-4 Mets loss.
On August 15th, he homered in the second game of a Mets 9-4 win over the San Francisco Giants.
O September 23rd, he came to bat in the top of the 8th inning, in with the Mets trailing the Cubs 6-5 facing reliever Darold Knowles. With Jerry Grote in Stearns doubled to tie the game. He scored on Felix Millan's base hit as the game winning run in the 8-6 Met win.In his rookie year Stearns would only hit .159 with 3 HRs & 10 RBIs in 59 games played. But behind the plate his fielding percent (.994%) & his caught stealing 37% were both above the leagues average. He turned nine double plays that were the third most in the league.
1976: In 1976 he was sent back down to AAA Tidewater, where he hit .310 finishing in the top ten for the batting title. He got called back up to the Mets in September, getting 18 hits in his first 13 games back. He ended up taking over the catching duties from Jerry Grote & Ron Hodges the rest of the month.
On September 8th, he had a three hit, three RBI Day which included a HR at Wrigley Field in a Mets 11-5 win. Two days later he drove in a pair of runs in St. Louis, helping the Mets & Jerry Koosman to his 19th win of the year, in the Mets to a 4-2 win.
Stearns finished the year batting .262 with 2 HRs 6 doubles a 364 on base % & 10 RBIs. Behind the plate he threw out 53% of would-be base stealers.
Trivia: John had started out his Mets career by wearing the uniform number 16, but he would end up switching numbers with Lee Mazzilli & took over the number 12.
.jpg)
1977 All Star Season: By 1977 he was the Mets main catcher, on Opening day as he drove in two runs, with a 6th inning single off Bruce Sutter. Tom Seaver won his last Mets Opening Day start, until his return in 1983, in a 5-3 victory.
.jpg)
On April 12th, in Seaver's second win, Stearnes hit his first HR of the season off Eric Rasmussen in the 4-0 win over the Cardinals. On April 29th, he homered in Jon Matlack's first win of the year.
On May 6th, he drove in all three Mets runs with a HR in the Mets 5-3 loss to the Giants at Candlestick Park. Later in May he homered in consecutive games at Cincinnati in Mets losses.
On June 1st, Stearns hit his first & only career grand slam HR, coming off reliever Jackie Brown at Stade Olympique in Montreal, helping the Mets to help beat the Expos 6-4.
Later that month he hit a three-run shot off Houston's Joe Sambito in an 8-2 Mets win at Shea Stadium.
.jpg)
Seaver's Last Game Before the Midnight Massacre: On June 12th, Stearns was battery mate to Tom Seaver in the last game he would pitch as a New York Met, before getting traded to the Cincinnati Reds. Seaver beat the Astros in Houston 3-1, Stearns hit a 9th inning double scoring Mike Vail.
.jpg)
Trivia: John Stearns caught Tom Seaver 12 times in his career, boasting that Seaver never shrugged him off once. Seaver was 9-1 in those games that Stearns caught.
On June 5th he homered against the Phillies on a 6-5 extra inning win at Shea Stadium. He hit safely in 22 of 25 games in the month of June & went into July with a 14-game hit streak, batting .311 leading the club in hitting.
At the All-Star break, he was batting .290 with 10 HRs & a .550 slugging % getting chosen for his first All Star game.
1977 All Star Game: That years' Mid-Summer Classic was held in the Bronx, New York. Tom Seaver had made the staff but had been traded from the Mets just a month ago & was now in a Reds uniform. Stearns was in a crowded NL dugout of catchers that featured future Hall of Famers, Johnny Bench & the Cards' Ted Simmons.
Stearns, the sole representative of a depleted & sad Mets team, caught the final inning of the All-Star Game, receiving the final strikeout from the Pirates, Rich Gossage, in the 7-5 NL victory. Stearns did not get an at bat in the game.
He struggled in the second half, as his average dropped off forty points, finishing up batting .251, with 12 HRs 55 RBIs, a .370 on base percentage and leading the team in doubles (12) & walks (77).
Bad Dude as he was known, would always take one for the team, getting hit by seven pitches & leading the team in that category for the next two seasons.
Stearns, the sole representative of a depleted & sad Mets team, caught the final inning of the All-Star Game, receiving the final strikeout from the Pirates, Rich Gossage, in the 7-5 NL victory. Stearns did not get an at bat in the game.
He struggled in the second half, as his average dropped off forty points, finishing up batting .251, with 12 HRs 55 RBIs, a .370 on base percentage and leading the team in doubles (12) & walks (77).
That season, he also tacked Atlanta Braves mascot, Chief Noc-a-Homa during his customary pregame war dance.
Quotes -John Stearns: "I watched him for three or four years & I said someday I'm going to clothesline this guy. One day I took off running at him like a defensive back. He looked at me like "What is this guy going to do?" I really didn't hit hm. I kind of dragged him down. Ot was a fun thing to do but Joe Torre was out manager & he didn't like it"
Torre said it was just the Dude being the Dude.
Trivia: All time in his career he was hit by 25 pitches (11th on the Mets all-time list). Stearns caught 127 games behind the plate (5th in the league). He was second in the NL in put outs (742) putting up a .982 fielding % while throwing out 40% of runners attempting to steal on him.
1978 Season: Stearns made the cover of the 1978 Mets yearbook, with him applying a diving tag on a Chicago Cubs runner (Mick Kelleher?) at the plate.
He had a slow April, hitting just .197 with just two extra base hits & two RBIs. But in the week of May 7th- mid-May he drove in runs in six of seven games, May 7th-May 13th.
On May 8th, he tied up a game in the top of the 9th inning in Cincinnati with a single off Fred Norman. The Mets went on to win it in extra innings.
On May 21st, he hit a HR off the Phillies Randy Lerch in a 6-5 win where Steve Henderson had a walk off double off Tug McGraw.
On May 27th, Stearns had a three RBI Day in the midst of a six-game hit streak. In June he hit two HRs on a California road trip including a three-hit day at Dodger Stadium.
Dave Parker Collision: On June 30th, in Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, Stearns made a big play which help build his reputation.
Dave Parker Collision: On June 30th, in Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, Stearns made a big play which help build his reputation.
.jpg)
The Mets were leading the game 6-3 in the 9th inning, with two men on & one out the Pirates Dave Parker lined a triple to left field making it a one run game.Next, Bill Robinson hit a fly ball to right field. Joel Younglood caught the ball & threw home to Stearns who was blocking the plate. Big Dave Parker crashed into Stearns in a play at the plate, but Stearns stood his ground, caught the ball & tagged out Parker to end the game.
Parker ended up running into a brick wall when he ran into "Bad Dude' John Stearns. The big guy was down, he fractured his cheekbone & was sidelining him for two weeks. When he came back, he had to wear a hockey mask & then a protective helmet with a face guard to protect him.
Parker ended up running into a brick wall when he ran into "Bad Dude' John Stearns. The big guy was down, he fractured his cheekbone & was sidelining him for two weeks. When he came back, he had to wear a hockey mask & then a protective helmet with a face guard to protect him.
When the Philadelphia Phillies came to town, they actually thanked Stearns for standing up to their rival, the big not too popular, Dave Parker.In July he got hot, hitting safely in 14 of 16 games. On a mid-July Road trip to Atlanta, Stearns had back-to-back HR & multi-RBI games against the Braves. In the second game of a July 20th double header, he had a four RBI Day in a 7-4 win over the Houston Astros at Shea. He closed out the month driving in runs in four of six games.
On August 1st, Stearns started the month with a three run HR off The Phillies Steve Carlton, helping the Mets to a 5-1 victory at Philadelphia. Three days later he had a three RBI night in St. Louis as the Mets beat the Cards 8-3.
In July & August he drove in 33 runs, then ended the year with a September eight game hit streak.
On August 1st, Stearns started the month with a three run HR off The Phillies Steve Carlton, helping the Mets to a 5-1 victory at Philadelphia. Three days later he had a three RBI night in St. Louis as the Mets beat the Cards 8-3.
In July & August he drove in 33 runs, then ended the year with a September eight game hit streak.
Stearns stole his 24th base of the season against pitcher Bob James & catcher Gary Carter. The stolen base broke the old National League modern day record of 23 set in 1903 by Johnny Kling.
In 1978 he graced the front cover of the Mets Yearbook. Young Mets stars Stearns & Lee Mazzilli had become the new faces of a struggling franchise.
On the season, Stearns batted .264 with a .364 on base % & led the team in doubles (24). He had career highs in HRs (15) RBIs (73) & games behind the plate (141).
Defensively he was second in the league in put outs, assists, errors & stolen bases allowed. He was third in catching runners stealing (53) 38% with a 985 fielding %.
Brawl with Gary Carter: In the fourth game of the 1979 season, Stearns started a bench clearing brawl with the Montreal Expos. It began as Gary Carter tried to score on Mets pitcher Pete Falcone's throwing error.
Outfielder Eliot Maddox threw to Stearns who tagged out Carter at home plate. But Bad dude, Stearns felt Carter had tried to elbow him with a cheap shot. Stearns went after Carter, attacking him. Both benches cleared & brawl was on
That season Stearns began to see more action in the outfield, as well as first & third base. This was to help reduce some of the wear & tear on his body. He caught 121 games and played in a career high 155 games overall.
Stearns was on an even more crowded & talented squad of NL catchers, joining Bob Boone, Ted Simmons, Johnny Bench & Carter with whom he had had the fight with earlier in the season.
Stearns & Lee Mazzilli represented the Mets with Mazzilli hitting an 8th inning, game winning HR to earn him the game's MVP Award. John Stearns did not play in the game.
Walk Off Base Hit: On a Wednesday matinee, day game at Shea on July 11th, Stearns came to bat in the bottom of the 10th inning in a 3-3 tie with the Dodgers. With the bases loaded, Stearns singled to left field off the Dodgers' Dennis Lewellyn, for the game winning hit scoring Lee Mazzilli, thrilling the 11,400 Shea fans.
In the first week of August, he drove in runs in six of the first eight games, proving to be one of the teams better offensive players when healthy. On August 4th, he hit a two run HR off the Expos Bill Lee leading Craig Swan to a 3-2 win in Montreal.
That month he drove in runs in twelve of the 27 games he played in that month.
Another Walk Off Hit: On September 8th, Ed Kranepool hot his last career HR, a two-run pinch hit shot in the 8th inning off Bert Blyleven. The Pirates tied it up & the game went to the 10th inning. With Lee Mazzilli & Joel Younglood on base, Stearns singled off Pittsburgh's Jim Bibby scoring Mazzilli with the games walk off game winning run.
Another Walk Off Hit: On September 8th, Ed Kranepool hot his last career HR, a two-run pinch hit shot in the 8th inning off Bert Blyleven. The Pirates tied it up & the game went to the 10th inning. With Lee Mazzilli & Joel Younglood on base, Stearns singled off Pittsburgh's Jim Bibby scoring Mazzilli with the games walk off game winning run.
That year the Mets finished last 63-99. Stearns finished the season with a career best 131 hits & 29 doubles. He only hit .243, with 9 HRs & a .312 on base %. He was second on the team with & 15 stolen bases & 66 RBIs.
1980 Season: In 1980 he started out well driving in runs in six of his first ten games. He had eight multi game hits in his first 15 games. He was batting .348 at the beginning of May.
On May 16th, he drove in three runs, including a two run double, his 14th double of the year in a 5-3 Mets win in Atlanta. On May 24th, he pinch hit in the 8th inning & tied up the game with a sac fly off the Braves Larry Bradford. The Mets won it on a walk of single by Elliot Maddox.
On May 28th, the Mets were down 5-0 to the Cards in St. Lous. John came to bat with the bases loaded & delivered a two-run single, the Mets scored six runs in the inning going on to a 6-5 win.In the final week of that month, he drove in runs in five of seven games hitting safely in six straight.
Tackling Drunk Fans On the Field: In a June 12th 6-5 win over the Dodgers, two drunken fans stormed the field. Security guards were chasing the two drunks around but were not able to nab them. Bad Dude grew irritable. He left his position behind the plate ran into left field & tackled one of them down to the ground. That ruckus ended right there.
On June 26th his 7th inning single off the Cubs Dick Tidrow, put the Mets ahead for good in the 4-3 win at Wrigley Field. Two days later he doubled off the Phillies Ron Reed in the top of the 11th inning, scoring Joel Youngblood with the winning run in a 2-1 extra inning win in Philadelphia.
On the Fourth of July another classic Stearns Bad Dude event occurred. In a game at Shea Stadium against the Montreal Expos, rookie pitcher Bill Gullickson threw a pitch at the head of the Mets Mike Jorgenson. Jorgensen had suffered a bad beaning the year before & had words going after Gullickson. Stearns who wasn't even in the game that night, jumped from the dugout, ran to the mound and went after Gullickson having to be held back by several Expos. Both players were ejected.
On the Fourth of July another classic Stearns Bad Dude event occurred. In a game at Shea Stadium against the Montreal Expos, rookie pitcher Bill Gullickson threw a pitch at the head of the Mets Mike Jorgenson. Jorgensen had suffered a bad beaning the year before & had words going after Gullickson. Stearns who wasn't even in the game that night, jumped from the dugout, ran to the mound and went after Gullickson having to be held back by several Expos. Both players were ejected.
.jpg)
1980 All Star Game: He was still hitting over .290 into July and made his third All Star team. The game was held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Once again Johnny Bench was the starter & the Expos' Gary Carter were also on the squad.Stearns came into the game in the 4th inning, catching hometown All Star pitcher, Bob Welch. Stearns came to bat in the game for the first time in his All-Star career, going 0-1 grounding out in the 5th inning against the American League's Tommy John. The Nl won the game 4-2.
After the All-Star game he continued to hit well, with four multi-hit games. On July 25th he drove in both Mets runs in Pat Zachary's six hit shutout over the Reds. The next day he broke his finger on a foul tip, which ended his season.
.jpg)
He finished up 1980 hitting a solid .285 with no HRs 25 doubles a .346 on base % & 45 RBIs playing in just 91 games.
1981 Strike Season: Stearns missed the first two weeks of the season. He slowly came back to play more at third & first base. He was back behind the plate in May & started hitting well, he hit safely in nine of ten games which included two four hit games. Then the MLB baseball strike stopped play.
On September 18th he hit an 8th inning two run game winning HR off Steve Carlton to beat the Philadelphia Phillies.
Stearns finished up hitting .271 in 80 games, stealing 12 bases, but his power production was down with one HR & 12 doubles. Behind the plate he only caught 66 games with a .985 fielding % & throwing out 36% of would-be base stealers. 1982 Injuries & last All Star Appearance: In 1982 he came back strong & .313 in the first month. On April 24th, he drove in the only run of a game against the Montreal Expos, with an RBI double off Ray Burris.
1982 All Star Game: Stearns had the honor of being selected to four All Star teams representing the Mets.
In 1982 he joined the City of Montreal's host, hero & starting catcher, Gary Carter as the game was held at Stade Olympique in front of 59,057 fans.
In 1982 he joined the City of Montreal's host, hero & starting catcher, Gary Carter as the game was held at Stade Olympique in front of 59,057 fans.
Stearns did not get an at bat, but finished the game in the 9th inning, catching three pitchers. The Giants, Greg Minton, the Dodgers' Steve Howe & Reds closer Tom Hume. The NL won the game 4-1. It was their 11th straight victory.
After the break Stearns had elbow problems sidelining him for the rest of the year. He finished the 1982 season up with a career best .293 average, tying for the team lead with Mookie Wilson with 25 doubles. He had 103 hits hitting 4 HRs 3 triples a .349 on base % & 17 stolen bases. Defensively in 81 games he threw out a career best 40% of would-be base stealers.
1983-1984: By now his elbow injury had made it difficult for him to throw at all & he only appeared in four games all year. In 1984 he did play in eight games getting his last career hit on the last day of the season. The Mets traded for Gary Carter in the 1984 off season & that November the Mets released him.
Quotes- John Stearns: "I was kind of numb rather than angry. I couldn't admit that it might be over.
He attempted a minor league come back in 1985, but the injuries cut his career short, and at age 34 he officially retired from baseball.
All Time Mets Leader Board: In his eleven-year career he played in 810 games with 696 hits (both 20th on the Mets all-time list). Stearns has 91 Mets stolen bases (15th on their All-Time list, tied with Cleon Jones).
He batted .260 with 152 doubles (14th on the all-time Mets list). He also has 46 HRs, 10 triples, 312 RBIs (26th all time) 323 walks (18th on the Mets all-time list) & a .341 on base %.
John Stearns is fourth on the Mets all-time list in games caught behind the plate (699). He had a
.985 fielding% throwing out 37% of would-be base stealers.
Retirement & Coaching Career: After his playing days, Stearns began to coached & manage at the minor league levels. He worked for the Brewers as a minor league catching instructor from 1986-1989. He then became a bullpen coach for the AL New York team in 1989.
In 1996-1997 he was promoted to the MLB level coaching for the Baltimore Orioles at first base.
From 1998 -2001 he returned to the Mets & coached under Bobby Valentine as Valentine's bench coach.
From 1998 -2001 he returned to the Mets & coached under Bobby Valentine as Valentine's bench coach.
He enjoyed getting two to consecutive Mets post seasons, something he never got to do as a Mets player. In 2003, he became manager of the AA Binghamton Mets then the AAA Norfolk Tides the next year. In 2005, he was the New York Mets minor league catching coordinator but then left the organization in 2006.
2000 Mets NL Champion Mets Coach: Mets fans witnessed Stearns's enthusiasm and excitability while he was a Mets coach in the 2000 Pennant Season.
Stearns was wearing a microphone for Fox television when the Mets' Mike Piazza, who had struggled in the NLDS, hit a run-scoring double in Game 1 of the 2000 NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals.
He moved to the Washington Nationals organization managing three seasons there in A ball. In 2011 he was the Seattle Mariners catching coordinator & a pro scout in 2012. In 2013 he served as AAA Tacoma's interim Manager.
In 2014 he was supposed to be the Seattle Mariners third base coach under Manager Lloyd McClendon but had to resign due to a hiatal hernia injury.
Battling Illness: The Mets longtime media director, Jat Horowitz announced in May of 2022 that Stearns is battling a tough disease & is living in an assisted living facility in Denver. He asked the fans for their prayers & well wishes to be sent to Stearns.
His former Mets teammate Doug Flynn arranged for his former team mates to contact him with support. Flynn noted even Hall of Famer Johnny Bench had given Flynn his kind support.
In May of 2022 his old high school retired his uniform number 12. Stearns was able to attend the ceremony.
Old Timers Day '22: One of his last appearances was at the 2022 Mets Old Timers Day on August 28th, 2022.
A frail John Stearns was visibly worn down due to his illness but was determined to make the event to see his old teammates & friends. Stearns even got into the batting cage to take a few swings. During the game he coached at first base.
years old.
Quotes- Lee Mazzilli: "I am heartbroken. John was just a joy to be around. He loved the game so much. I was amazed when he went to the batting cage at Old Timers Day. That just showed you how much a competitor he was.
Doug Flynn: "I saw John hit his first major league HR, He was a great teammate & great competitor & later he became a great friend."
Bobby Valentine: "He was such a key part of our staff. He had a unique way of lighting a fire under the guys. Every time we spoke by phone, he kept telling me how he was going to beat this thing. That was John Stearns to a tee."
Family: John marred his wife Martha Jo, whom he affectionally called, Marti, on October 27th, 1979. Together they had one son, Justin who now runs a mortgage company in California.
Comments