New York Mets fans were already off-the-wall excited when the extremely rich Steve Cohen officially bought the team last month.
After all, it’s been decades since the franchise’s last title filled with futility, jokes at the team’s expense, and embarrassment that started all the way at the top and filtered throughout the organization. It felt like you could make one of those mock One Shining Moment videos of all the negative things and punchlines from the last 30 years.
So when Cohen stepped to the mic on Tuesday, he delivered an all-timer of a press conference, leaving fans off their minds, thrilled to see someone say exactly the right things and more.
And it didn’t feel empty or for public relations’ sake. It’s clear, from Day 1, he’s going to pump money into the team, let the smart people he hires make the right decisions and sit back.
Here’s a piece of his opening statement, and note that he wants to build smartly, and not just by throwing a bunch of money around:
Steve Cohen addresses Mets fans:
"I don't just want to get into the playoffs, I want to win a championship." pic.twitter.com/8V9DqH0aIR
— SNY (@SNYtv) November 10, 2020
More from Steve Cohen:
"You build champions, you don't buy them. And we have a great core on this team." pic.twitter.com/hJZ6gufDDG
— SNY (@SNYtv) November 10, 2020
This is music to Mets’ fans ears after years in which the budget was capped:
Steve Cohen on the Mets' budget:
"This is a major market team and it should have a budget commensurate with that." pic.twitter.com/YvZOH7TfqG
— SNY (@SNYtv) November 10, 2020
He even didn’t hold back when asked about social justice and how players should express themselves:
"Black lives do matter…if my players want to express themselves, they're entitled to do it." – @StevenACohen2 pic.twitter.com/PAyofxUlSt
— SNY (@SNYtv) November 10, 2020
Even something as simple as having an Old Timers’ Day like the Yankees do is a positive:
"I don't know why we wouldn't do that." – Steve Cohen on Old Timer's Day
Love it.
— Jake Brown (@JakeBrownRadio) November 10, 2020
And his approach is to make the fans happy!
"I'm not trying to make money here," Steve Cohen said. He has his day job for that.
"Here, it's about building something great, building something for the fans, winning."
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) November 10, 2020
Steve Cohen: "I'm essentially doing it for the fans. When I really thought about it, I can make millions of people happy."
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) November 10, 2020
Perfect. Beyond perfect. What a day for the franchise and its fans.
