John Stearns: Four Time Mets All Star Catcher & Coach (1975 - 1984) (1998 - 2001)

John Harden Stearns was born August 21, 1951, in Denver Colorado. His parents were Carle & Joan Stearns, had four children, three sons as well as a daughter.

Their father worked in the Denver school system & encouraged his family to play sports. At one time he played football at the University of Colorado.

Athletic Family: In 1971 his older brother Bill, was drafted by the AL New York club, as a catcher but never made the big leagues. He would spend 1974-1977 in AAA ball. Younger brother Rick played football for the CU Buffaloes & sister Carla was a softball catcher at the University of Northern Colorado.

At high school he was chosen to be the catcher, because he was the best athlete on the team. In 1969, at age 17, John was originally drafted by the Oakland A's but chose to attend the University of Colorado like his dad. Stearns became a star baseball & football player at the University of Colorado. 

Honors: He would get elected to the Colorado Buffaloes CU Hall of Fame.

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 had a hard time adjusting. 

The next year things got better; he batted .343 in A-ball & got promoted to AAA Toledo. In 1974 games he hit .266 & played a strong defense. That year he joined Gary Carter as another catcher in the International League All Star Game.

MLB Debut: On September 22nd, 1974, Stearns was called up & debuted in a 8-5 loss at Montreal. He collected his first MLB hit, coming off Mike Torrez. Later in the game he reached on an error. It was the only game he appeared in that season.

 

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, with the wear & tears of ten years of catching started to creep up to him. Also, that off season, in a major blunder, the Mets believed a sist in reliever's Tug McGraw’s arm was going to ruin his career. So, the Mets wanted to trade McGraw & get a future replacement for Grote behind the plate.

In December 1974 the Mets traded Tug McGraw, Don Hahn & outfielder 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. He was still adjusting to big league pitching, not hitting over .200 until mid- June after hitting safely in seven of eight games.

On August 15th, Stearns homered in the second game of a doubleheader at Shea with the Giants, in a Mets 9-4 win.

On September 23rd in Chicago, 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 on base, 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: Stearns began the year with the Mets, but after five April games he was batting just .091 & he was sent back down to AAA Tidewater, where he hit .310 finishing in the top ten for the batting title. Ron Hodges took over the role as back up catcher.

He got called back up to the Mets in September, getting 18 hits in his first 13 games back. Stearns
ended up taking over the catching duties from Jerry Grote & Ron Hodges the rest of the month.

Multi -Three RBI Game: On September 8th, he had a three hit, three RBI Day which included a two run HR off Steve Renko 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 20th 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 over the Cardinals at Shea that evening. AT the plate Stearns drew three walks & scored a run.

On September 19th, John hit a 6th inning HR off the Pirates Dave Guisti tying up the game at six. Ed Kranepool would have a pinch-hit RBI that inning in what was the games winning run.

Stearns finished the year batting .262 with 2 HRs 6 doubles 13 runs scored & 10 RBIs. He posted a .364 on base % & .742 OPS. Behind the plate he threw out 53% of would-be base stealers. 

Trivia: John had started out his Mets career by wearing the uniform # 16, but he would end up switching numbers with Lee Mazzilli & took over the number #12.

1977 All Star Season: By 1977 Stearns was the Mets main catcher. On Opening day he drove in two runs, with a 6th inning single off the Cubs Bruce Sutter. Tom Seaver was the winning pitcher in the 5-3 victory at Wrigley Field.

It was Seaver's last Opening Day with the Mets, until his return in 1983.

On April 12th, in Seaver's second win of the season, Stearn's hit his first HR of the season, coming off St. Louis' Eric Rasmussen in ta 4-0 win over the Cardinals. 

On April 29th, Stearns homered in San Diego, off Rick Sawyer in Jon Matlack's first win of the year.

Multi- Three RBI Game: On May 6th, John drove in all three Mets runs with a three run HR off the Giants Lynn McgGlothen in a 5-3 loss at Candlestick Park. 

On May 21st & 22nd, Stearnes homered in back-to-back games at Cincinnati. In the second game, his HR off Fred Norman helped the Mets in a 4-3 victory.

Grand Slam HR: On June 1st, Stearns hit his first & only career grand slam HR. It came off Expos reliever Jackie Brown at Stade Olympique in Montreal, in a 6-4 win over the Expos. It was his sixth HR of the season.

On June 5th he homered against the Phillies on a 6-5 extra inning win at Shea Stadium. 

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. 

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.

He hit safely in 19 of 24 games in the month of June & went into July with a 14-game hit streak, batting .311 leading the club in hitting. From June 18th to July 2nd, John had a 14-game hit streak where he hit .449 with 22 hits, ten doubles, three HRs & nine RBIS.

Multi- Four RBI Game: On June 19th, John put the Mets on the board first with an RBI double off the Astros Joaquin Andujar. In the 7th inning, he hit a three-run HR off Long Island's own Joe Sambito in an 8-2 Mets win at Shea Stadium.

 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: 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 Cardinals Ted Simmons. 

Stearns, the sole representative of a depleted 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.

In the second half of the season, he struggled, as his average dropped off forty points. 

In August & September combined he hit just .146. John finished up batting .251. Led the team in doubles (25) & walks (77) with 12 HRs 52 runs scored & 55 RBIs. Bad Dude Stearns also led the team in hit by pitches with seven. He posted a good a .370 on base percentage & .767 OPS).

Trivia: Stearns would lead the Mets in hit by pitches twice (1977-1978). All time in his career he
was hit by 25 pitches (11th on the Mets all-time list). 

Defensively 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.

Quotes- Jerry Koosman: "He's shown much improvement as any catcher I've known, especially in his aggressiveness & thinking. He still tries to catch balls in the dirt instead of blocking them."

Bad Dude Tackles Chief Noc-a-homa: That season, in a game at Fulton County Stadium, Stearns tackled 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. It was a fun thing to do but Joe Torre was our manager & he didn't like it"

Joe Torre said it was just the Dude being the Dude. 

1978 Season: Stearns made the cover of the 1978 Mets yearbook, with him applying a diving tag on a Chicago Cubs runner (possibly Mick Kelleher) at the plate.

He had a slow start in April, hitting just .197 with just two extra base hits & two RBIs. Stearns stole three bases in three attempts in the month as well.

Then from May 6th- May 17th he had a nine-game hit streak, driving in runs in six games. 

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. 

Multi- Stolen Base Game: On May 10th, he stole two bases off the Expos Gary Carter, in a 7-2 win at Montreal. That night he was caught stealing for the first time on the season, in seven attempts.

On May 21st, he hit a HR off the Phillies Randy Lerch in a 6-5 Mets win. The game was highlighted by Steve Henderson's Walk off double off former Met Tug McGraw.

Multi Three RBI Game: On May 27th, Stearns had a three RBI Game in a 9-7 win at Houston in the midst of a six-game hit streak. In the top of the 8th inning, the Mets were down 7-4, but they put up four runs including a two run double by Stearns to go ahead the double came off Joe Sambito who hit well in is career. In the top of the 9th, Stearns sac fly off Bob Forsch was the games winning run.

In June, he hit two HRs on the California road trip & had a three-hit day in a loss at Dodger Stadium.

Dave Parker Collision: On June 30th, in Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, Stearns made a big play which continued to build his reputation as Bad Dude. 

The Mets were leading the Pirates 6-3 in the 9th inning. With two men on & one out 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.

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 Stearns safely in 14 of 16 games. 

On July 17th in the night cap of a double header in Atlanta, Stearns had his third three hit game of the season. He led off the 2nd inning with a solo HR off Mickey Mahler, then added an RBI single in the 7th inning of the 7-4 win. The next day he hit his 10th HR of the season, coming off the Braves Phil Neikro.

Multi- Four RBI Game: On July 20th, Stearns collected a season high four RBIs in a 7-4 win over the Astros at Shea Stadium. In the 1st he had an RBI single, then in the 2nd inning with the bases loaded he hit a three run double into left field off Houston pitcher, Floyd Bannister.

On July 22nd at Shea, Stearns hit his 11th HR of the year also coming off the Braves Phil Niekro in a 2-0 Tom Hausman, Skip Lockwood combined shut out. Doug Flynn provided the other run. He closed out the month driving in runs in four of six games.

Multi -Three RBI 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. The next night he had his second multi- stolen base game, swiping two bases to reach 17 on the season. 

On August 4th, he had another multi- three RBI night in St. Louis as the Mets beat the Cards 8-3. In the 1st inning he drew a bases loaded walk. In the 9th with the Mets down 4-2, he tied the game with a two run double off Mark Litell. Doug Flyn followed with a two-run single later in the inning, leading to the win.

In July & August he drove in 33 runs with twenty extra base hits, batting .276. In August he stole six bases to reach 21 on the season, just two away from the NL record for catchers.

Record Tying Stolen Base: On September 3rd, in an 8-5 win over the NL Champion Dodgers in Los Angeles, Stearns swiped second base off pitcher Tommy John & catcher Joe Ferguson for his 23rd stolen base of the season, tying an MLB record for catchers set in 1903 by Johnny Kling. Stearns also had two hits in the game with an RBI single off John in the Mets seven run 2nd inning.

Stolen Base Record for Catchers: On September 7th, 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 running on pitcher Bob James & catcher Gary Carter. The stolen base broke the old National League modern day record of 23 set by the Cubs Johnny Kling.

Four Hit Game: On September 15th, in the midst of an eight-game hit streak, he had a season high four hit game in a 5-4 win over the Phillies at Veterans Stadium. That season John had at least three hits in a game five times.

On the season, Stearns had career highs in HRs (15) runs scored (65) RBIs (73) stolen bases (25) & games behind the plate (141). He batted .264 with 24 doubles, 77 walks, posting a .364 on base % & 777 OPS.

Defensively he was second in the league in put outs, assists, errors & stolen bases allowed. He posted a .985 fielding %. John was third in catching runners attempting to steal (53) throwing out 38%. In 1978, Mets pitcher Craig Swan won the NL ERA title, with Stearns as his backstop the majority of the time.

Catch the Rising Stars: Young Mets stars Stearns & Lee Mazzilli had become the new faces of a struggling franchise. The team had a new slogan that season, with their faces & other Mets players on advertisements around the city saying, "Catch the Rising Stars".

1979: This season Stearns began to see more action at other positions, first base (16 games) third base (11 games) & outfield (6 games. 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. 

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

 On April 25th at Shea Stadium, Stearns was behind the plate as pitcher Craig Swan tossed a two hit shut out over the Giants. Stearns drove in one of the two Mets runs with a HR off Tom Griffin. The Mets had just three hits on the evening. 

On May 11th in San Diego, pitcher Kevin Kobel shut out the Padres for eight innings with Skip Lockwood notching the save. Stearns was the catcher that night & hit a two run HR off Steve Mura in the 4-0 win.

From May 20th to June 3rd, he drove in runs in ten of 12 games. From May 25th to June 12th, he had a 13-game hit streak where he batted .340 with nine RBIs. In the month of June, he hit .308 with six stolen bases.

Multi- Three RBI Game: On June 3rd, he had a season high three RBI game in a 9-4 win at Atlanta. Stearns hit three RBI singles in the game & stole his fourth base of the season.

In late June he drove in runs in each game of a series at Three Rivers Stadium with the Pirates. On Thursday June 28th, he hit a HR off Jim Bibby in the 3-2 New York win.

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. 

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. 

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.

In the first week of August, he drove in runs in six of the first eight games. 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 16 runs with RBIs in twelve of the 28 games he played in that month.

Walk Off Hit: On September 8th, Mets teammate Ed Kranepool hit his last career HR, a two-run pinch hit shot in the 8th inning off Bert Blyleven. The Pirates tied came back to tie the game up. In the 10th inning, with Lee Mazzilli & Joel Youngblood on base, Stearns singled off Pittsburgh's Jim Bibby scoring Mazzilli with the games walk off game winning run. 

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 again at 63-99. Stearns finished the season with a career best 131 hits & 29 doubles. He hit .243, with 9 HRs, two triples & 58 runs scored. He was second on the team with & 15 stolen bases & 66 RBIs. He struck out 57 times with 70 walks posting a .312 on base % & .667 OPS.

In 121 games at catcher, he threw out 34% of would-be base stealers. He posted a .983 fielding % &turned 11 double plays.

1980 Season: In 1980 he started out well driving in runs in six of his first ten games. He had eight multi hit games thru his first 15 games. At the end of April, he was batting .316. 

Multi -Three RBI Game: On May 16th, he drove in three runs, with an RBI single & a two run double off Phil Niekro, in a 5-3 Mets win in Atlanta. Stearns already had 14 doubles on the season.

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 at Shea Stadium, 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.

Brawl With Expos: On the Fourth of July at Shea, 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.

1980 All Star Game: At the break, Stearns was hitting .291 with 21 doubles & 34 RBIs, as he was named to his third All Star team. The game was played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Once again Johnny Bench was the NL starting catcher & the Expos' Gary Carter was 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 his old Reds teammates. 

On July 26th, at Shea Stadium Stearns broke his finger on a foul tip at the start of the game. Roy Lee Jackson pitched to the Reds Dave Collins who fouled off the pitch. Stearns would be out for the remainder of the season. 

In 91 games, he batted .285 with 25 doubles & 45 RBIs, posting a .346 on base % & .716 OPS playing in just 91 games.

1981 Strike Season: Stearns twisted his ankle at the start of the season at a workout at Wrigley Field. He missed the first two weeks of the season. He slowly came back getting inserted more at third & first base. 

In mid-May he was back behind the plate & started hitting. From May 10th to June 1st, he hit safely in 16 of 18 games, while batting .349. On June 10th the MLB Players strike stopped play for two months.

On September 16th in the second game of a twin bill split with the Phillies at Shea, John hit an 8th inning two run HR off Steve Carlton to beat the Phillies 5-4. It was his only HR of the season. On September 20th with the Mets down 5-2 to the Cardinals, he started a 7th inning rally with an RBI single. The Mets tied the game with three straight RBI hits & won it on Mookie Wilsons Walk off HR.

Stearns finished up 1981 hitting .271 in 80 games. He stole 12 bases, but his power production was down. He hit one HR, with 12 doubles & 24 RBIs. 

Behind the plate he caught 66 games with a .985 fielding % & throwing out 36% of would-be base stealers. John played nine games at first & four games at third.

1982 Injuries & last All Star Appearance: In 1982 he started out healthy, batting .313 in the first month. 

In the fourth game of the season, he hit his first HR coming n a loss at Wrigley Field. On April 24th, he drove in the only run of a game in a 1-0 win at Montreal, with an RBI double off Ray Burris. The Mets Charlie Puleo, Pete Falcone & Neil Allen combined in the four-hit shutout.

On May 2nd in San Francisco, he hit a HR off the Giants Greg Minton, stopping Minton’s streak of 254 innings having not given up a HR.

On June 20th, Stearns with the Mets & Cardinals tied 3-3 at Busch Stadium, he tripled in the top of the 10th inning off relief ace Bruce Sutter, driving in two runs leading the Mets to a 5-4 win. 

1982 All Star: In the first half of the season, Stearns was batting an even .300 as he was named to his fourth & final All-Star Game.

The 1982 All Star Game was held at Stade Olympique in Montreal, in front of 59,057 fans. Stearns played a back up role to Montreal's favorite hometown player, starting catcher, Gary Carter. 

Stearns did not get an at bat but finished the game behind the plate in the 9th inning, catching three pitchers. The Giants, Greg Minton, the Dodgers' Steve Howe & Reds closer Tom Hume all pitched to a batter. The NL won the game 4-1 for their 11th straight All-Star victory.

After the break Stearns had elbow problems sidelining him for most the rest of the year. He only got into 23 more games in the second half of the season.

He finished the 1982 season up with a career best .293 average, tying for the team lead in doubles (25) with Mookie Wilson. He had 103 hits hitting 4 HRs with 3 triples 46 runs scored 28 RBIs & 17 stolen bases. He posted a .349 on base % & .764 OPS.

Defensively in 81 games he threw out a career best 40% of would-be base stealers. 

1983: By now his elbow injury had made it difficult for him to throw at all. In 1983 Stearns only appeared in four games all year. He went thru two surgeries to try to heal his arm.

1984: In 1984 the Mets had a good team & were contending for the NL East title. Full of new young star players & a mix of some veterans it was an exciting new ball club. 

Unfortunately for Stearns although he was one of the era's better players, he was looked at as a remaining symbol from the losing years. Now he was beat up & battling injures, looked at as an old man at just 33 years old. 

On July 10th he came into a game in Atlanta as a pinch runner & scored on Keith Hernandez two run double. He played ten games at AAA Tidewater then was called up in September. Stearns got into eight games that month going 3-17. 

Final Career Game: On September 30th, he suited up for the final time, getting a start catching Ron Darling in the last game of the season, in a loss at Montreal. In the 7th inning he singled off Bill Gullickson driving in Mookie Wilson with his final hit & RBI of his career.

 The Mets traded for Gary Carter in the 1984 off season & that November Stearns was released.

Quotes- John Stearns: "I was kind of numb rather than angry. I couldn't admit that it might be over.

In 1985, he played for the Reds minor leagues at AA Denver batting .264 in 72 games. After the season at age 34 he officially retired from baseball.

All Time Mets Leader Board: In his eleven-year career he played in 809 Mets games (21st all time).  On the Mets All Time list John stole 91 bases (tied for 14th most) with 152 doubles (16th most) & 30 sac flies (12th most). He has 695 hits (23rd most) with 323 walks (22nd most) 312 RBIs (28th most).

Stearns batted .260 with 46 HRs, 10 triples, a .341 on base % & .717 OPS.

John Stearns is fourth on the Mets all-time list in games caught behind the plate (699). He posted a .985 fielding% making 63 errors in 4221chances. He threw out 37% of would-be base stealers. He made 64 double plays with 466 assists. 

Retirement & Coaching Career: After his playing days, Stearns began to coached & manage at the minor league levels. From 1986-1989 he worked for the Brewers as a minor league catching instructor. In 1989 he became a bullpen coach for the AL New York team. 

In 1990-1991 he went to the Blue Jays organization as an AA Manager (1990-1991) In 1992 he then moved on to the Reds organization 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.

In 1996-1997 he was promoted to the MLB level coaching for the Baltimore Orioles at first base.

Return to the Mets: In 1998 he returned to the Mets organization & coached under for his old Mets teammate Bobby Valentine as the team's bench coach. Stearns would coach with the Mets for four seasons. He enjoyed getting two to consecutive Mets post seasons, something he never got to do as a Mets player.  

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. 

"The Monsters Out of the Cage": 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.

In 2001 after the 911 Attacks, he helped stage relief efforts at Shea Stadium which was used for a drop off point for supplies.

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. 

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. 

Hobbies: Stearns was an avid golfer, a love he picked up as a youngster, caddying for his mother.

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.

Honors: John was on hand for the closing ceremonies at Shea Stadium in 2008.

Battling Illness: In May 2022 the Mets longtime media director, Jat Horowitz announced that Stearns was battling a tough disease & was living in an assisted living facility in Denver. He asked the fans for their prayers & well wishes to be sent to Stearns. 

John's former Mets teammate Doug Flynn arranged for other old players to contact him with support. Flynn noted that even Hall of Famer Johnny Bench had given him his kind support.

Old Timers Day '22: August 28th, 2022, John was able to attend the Mets Old Timers Day celebration. His son said it was something he really wanted to be a part of. It was to be one of his last public appearances as he would pass away less than three weeks later.

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.

Passing: On September 15th, 2022, John Stearns passed away in Denver, Colorado. He was 71 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."

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.

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."