John Stearns obit

Former Mets catcher John Stearns passes away at 71

 

He was not on the list.

John Stearns, the firebrand catcher who spent a decade playing for the Mets in the 1970s and ‘80s, passed away Thursday following a long bout with cancer. He was 71.

Less than three weeks before his death, Stearns “literally willed himself to attend” Old-Timers’ Day at Citi Field, as Mets president Sandy Alderson put it, “so he could visit friends and old teammates.” Stearns even stepped into the batting cage to swing a bat before the game.

“His nickname, ‘Bad Dude’ couldn’t have been more appropriate,” Alderson wrote in a statement.

A four-time All-Star, Stearns hit .260 with 46 home runs over 11 seasons, breaking in with the Phillies in 1974 before coming to the Mets in the five-player trade that sent Tug McGraw to Philadelphia. With the Mets, Stearns became known as an active presence behind the plate, compiling more defensive WAR with the Mets than all but one catcher (Jerry Grote) in franchise history. Stearns was perhaps best-known for blocking home plate in a June 30, 1978 game against the Pirates, standing his ground to tag out Dave Parker for the final out of the game. Parker suffered a broken jaw in the collision.

“No one played the game harder than John,” said former teammate and manager Joe Torre. “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.”

Also respected on the basepaths, Stearns holds the six highest single-season stolen base totals for a Mets catcher. His career tally of 91 is more than six times higher than the next Mets backstop.

In his later years, Stearns became a scout, coach and Minor League manager for the Mets and other organizations. He last appeared in uniform for a Mariners affiliate in 2013, before returning to New York for Old-Timers’ Day this August.

“As a coach, he always had your back,” former Mets closer John Franco said. “I saw how sick he was at Old Timers’ Day, and I think he was holding on just to get back to the ballpark and see some of the guys one more time.”

Stearns attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver, Colorado. He played three sports in high school, winning state championships in baseball and basketball. The Oakland Athletics selected Stearns in the 13th round of the 1969 Major League Baseball draft at 17 years old, but he chose to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder instead.

Stearns became a two-sport star for the Colorado Buffaloes, playing both baseball and football. He earned the nickname "Bad Dude" for his "reputation of being a cocky, arrogant player". Playing as safety and also the team's punter, his 16 career interceptions remain the Colorado record as of 2017. He was drafted as a defensive back by the Buffalo Bills in the 17th round of the 1973 NFL Draft. The Philadelphia Phillies selected Stearns in the first round, with the second overall pick in the 1973 Major League Baseball draft, and he chose to turn professional in baseball.

Stearns's professional career started with the Reading Phillies of the Class AA Eastern League in 1973. After batting just .241 for Reading, he was demoted to the Rocky Mount Phillies of the High-A Carolina League for 1974 and batted .343 in 64 games. Mid-season, he was promoted directly to the Toledo Mud Hens of the Class AAA International League. He batted .266 for Toledo and was promoted to the major leagues in September. On September 22, 1974, Stearns made his major league debut and picked up his first hit, going 1-for-2 off the bench.

Stearns's first game with the Phillies turned out to be his last. With budding prospect Bob Boone firmly entrenched behind the plate for Philadelphia, Stearns became expendable. He was traded along with Del Unser and Mac Scarce from the Phillies to the New York Mets for Tug McGraw, Don Hahn and Dave Schneck at the Winter Meetings on December 3, 1974.

In his first season as a Met, Stearns spent 1975 as the backup catcher behind veteran Jerry Grote, the Mets' regular catcher since 1966. As Grote's backup, Stearns batted only .189 in 1975. In 1976, Stearns hit poorly in limited time and was soon replaced in backup duties by lefty hitter Ron Hodges. Stearns was sent back to the Tidewater Tides and hit very well while Hodges struggled in the majors. He was brought back to the majors for September and continued his hot hitting. With 18 hits in his first 13 games back, including seven hits in two games, Stearns not only ousted Hodges, but even took over the starting duties from Grote for most of the rest of the season.

Stearns was the starting catcher for most of 1977, with Grote and Hodges relegated to backup and pinch-hitting duty. In June, Stearns posted two four-RBI games, including the only grand slam of his career. On July 1, his average stood at .314, with a slugging average of .554. With his good mid-season statistics and the Mets firmly in last place in the National League East, Stearns was chosen as the team's sole representative to the All-Star Game, catching the bottom of the ninth inning. On August 31, 1977, the Mets traded Grote to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two players to be named later. Stearns had a .125 average in August and .167 average in September. His 25 doubles were most on the team and 12 home runs tied Steve Henderson and John Milner for the team lead. Despite a poor average and only two RBIs in April, Stearns set career highs in home runs, RBIs, runs and total bases in 1978. He also led the team with a career high 25 stolen bases, and in the process broke the National League record for catchers, which had been held by Johnny Kling since 1902.

Stearns got into a bench clearing brawl in the fourth game of the 1979 season. With the Montreal Expos at Shea Stadium on April 11, Stearns and Expos catcher Gary Carter collided at home when Carter tried to score from first on a throwing error by Mets pitcher Pete Falcone. Right fielder Elliott Maddox made a perfect throw to the plate to get Carter. Following the play, a fight broke out when Stearns felt that Carter unnecessarily threw an elbow at him. Both benches and bullpens emptied, and both players were ejected from the game. Stearns set career highs in games played in 1979, but at age 27, it was his last season with 100 or more games. He also set personal highs in at-bats, hits and doubles. Although he struggled to get above .200, a good June resulted in selection to his second All-Star Game (although he did not play). The Mets finished 1979 with 99 losses, and 35 games behind the division champion Pittsburgh Pirates. Well out of contention in the second half, they experimented by playing Stearns at both first base and third base, as well as in the outfield, but he finished out the season back behind the plate.

In 1980, Stearns hit no home runs, but his average was mostly between .300 and .320 from early May through the end of June. On June 12, 1980, two inebriated spectators jumped onto the playing field. While police were unable to catch them, Stearns grew frustrated and ran from behind the plate onto the third base side of the infield, tackling and subduing one of them. At Shea Stadium on July 4, 1980, Montreal Expos rookie Bill Gullickson sailed a pitch over Mets first baseman Mike Jorgensen's head in the second game of a doubleheader. Jorgensen didn't appreciate this as he had been the victim of one of the worst beanball injuries in baseball history the previous season with the Texas Rangers, and motioned toward Gullickson his disapproval. Stearns, who wasn't even in the line-up for this game, charged out of the dugout and grabbed Gullickson from behind by the neck. Gullickson responded by clocking Stearns in the face with three solid punches.

Stearns was selected to his third All-Star Game and even logged his first All-Star Game at bat, grounding out in the fifth inning. A three-hit, three-RBI game highlighted his July, but just a week later, on July 26, a broken finger on a foul tip ended his season.