Former teammates on Friday recalled John Stearns as a fierce competitor who shined behind the plate in an period of principally dangerous Mets baseball.
Stearns, a four-time All-Star catcher for the membership, died in Denver after a protracted battle with most cancers, the group introduced. He was 71.
Regardless of his failing well being, a frail Stearns appeared at Previous Timers’ Day final month at Citi Discipline. Stearns performed for the Mets from 1975-84 after arriving as a part of a commerce that despatched reliever Tug McGraw to the Phillies.
To teammates Stearns was “Dude” — a rugged former College of Colorado linebacker who thrived on aggression.
“We performed a unique sport again then and Dude was actually good at enjoying it,” former Mets pitcher Ed Lynch instructed The Submit.
Lynch recalled a sport in Atlanta in 1981 through which Stearns used his aggression on the Braves’ mascot, Chief Noc-A-Homa, who had a pregame ritual of sprinkling mud on the mound and residential plate earlier than placing his head down and sprinting alongside the third-base line to his tepee behind the left-field fence.
“Chief Noc-A-Homa is on the mound and [Stearns] goes, ‘Lynchie, watch this,’ ” Lynch stated. “Chief Noc-A-Homa places his head down and begins sprinting down the third final analysis, and Atlanta’s dugouts within the previous stadium have been towards the outfield just a little bit. [Stearns] comes out of the outfield aspect of the dugout and he’s obtained a beeline, and Chief Noc-A-Homa has obtained his head down, and [Stearns] simply clothes-lined the residing hell out of him. And Chief Noc-A-Homa goes down like he obtained shot, there are feathers flying all over the place.”
Stated former Mets outfielder Lee Mazzilli: “That was the best open-field deal with I've seen.”
Lynch recalled Stearns, in his shin guards, returning to the dugout laughing, however supervisor Joe Torre wasn’t so amused.
“I've by no means seen a supervisor gown down a participant — as he ought to have — like he did with John that day,” Lynch stated. “It was one of the crucial unbelievable issues I've ever seen. In case you did that now with the mascot you'll be banned most likely for all times.”
In one other occasion, Stearns took on a fan who had run on the sector at Shea Stadium.
“Impulsively this man runs on the sector and he’s fairly athletic, he's pulling Walter Payton on the safety guards,” Lynch stated. “They will’t catch him. He's working across the infield and Dude is standing there together with his masks in his hand, he’s obtained his arms on his hips and the man runs proper in entrance of the plate. Dude drops his glove and his masks, grabs this man across the waist and simply pile-drives him proper into the bottom.”
Stearns had a collision at residence plate with Dave Parker that resulted within the Pirates star sustaining a damaged jaw.
Stearns’ greatest season offensively was in 1978, when he hit 15 residence runs and stole 25 bases for the Mets. He was chosen as a Nationwide League All-Star in 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1982 for perennially dangerous Mets groups.
Mazzilli stated Stearns was thrilled to return for Previous Timers’ Day on Aug. 27. Mazzilli posted an image on social media of himself and Stearns teaching first base throughout the sport.
“It meant all of the world that he obtained to see all the fellows,” Mazzilli stated. “Sort of like a sendoff for him, simply particular.”
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