New York Mets owner Steve Cohen cares. Among baseball owners, that’s enough to endear him to his team’s fanbase.
But aside from spending money to try and win, Cohen is able to sway fans to his side by being the most publicly-facing owner in the game. He regularly tweets about the team, occasionally interacting with fans to share his opinions or ask for feedback.
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He also — unlike most baseball owners — holds himself accountable. So when the Mets failed to make the playoffs after a miserable second-half collapse, Cohen was quick to write a public message to fans apologizing for the team’s performance and vowing to fix it.
His full statement read:
“Mets fans everywhere. I owe you an apology. You did your part by showing up and supporting the team. We didn’t do our part. We will do a post-mortem and figure out the obvious and less obvious reasons why the team didn’t perform up to your and my expectations.
“We are all feeling raw emotions today. I know how much time and effort you have put into this team. The result was unacceptable. Your emotions tell me how much you care and continues to motivate the organization to do better. Thank you to the best fans in sports.”
The Mets entered the 2025 MLB season with sky-high expectations. After signing star outfielder Juan Soto to a massive $765 million deal and re-signing Pete Alonso to a two-year, $54 million deal, the Mets entered 2025 with one of the highest payrolls in baseball.
In the first half of the season, it looked like the team was destined for the postseason. The Mets went 55-42 in the first half, jumping out to a .567 winning percentage. The team cratered in the second half, going just 28-37 despite no major injuries or changes to the roster.
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The Philadelphia Phillies easily took the National League East crown, but — despite the struggles — the Mets still had a shot to make the playoffs on the final day of the regular season. All the team needed to do was beat the Miami Marlins, the team with the lowest payroll in the sport. The Mets also needed help from the Cincinnati Reds, but that ultimately did not matter. New York couldn’t push past the Marlins, dropping the season finale 4-0 and getting eliminated from the playoffs.
There’s plenty of blame to go around after the Mets collapsed in the second half. Starting pitchers David Peterson, Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga all posted ERAs near or above 6.00 in the second half. Midseason acquisitions Cedric Mullins and Ryan Helsley imploded after joining New York. Manager Carlos Mendoza couldn’t do enough to pull the team out of its funk as things fell apart.
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It’s unclear what actions Cohen will take to ensure this type of collapse doesn’t happen again. Other than losing Alonso, who will opt out of his deal, the Mets will return much of the same talent next season. Bringing back Alonso would go a long way toward ensuring the Mets remain a dangerous team on offense, but Cohen can’t simply bring back the same roster and expect success.
While the steps toward turning around the Mets are unclear, fans can sleep easy knowing Cohen is the type of owner who will make the necessary moves to try and get the team back on track.
