It’s been a hectic handful of days for the New York Mets organization following the decision to fire manager Carlos Mendoza after two and a half seasons.
Mendoza had the Mets sitting at 34-47 when he was dismissed Friday morning. Interim manager Andy Green is 1-1 heading into Sunday’s series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Mets general manager David Stearns kept his job, but that hasn’t stopped fans from expressing their frustration over the decision throughout the weekend.
Mets Fan Removed From Citi Field
During Friday’s game, a Mets fan was seen holding up a sign that read, “Fire Stearns,” which security inside the stadium confiscated.
The fan then created another sign that also read “Fire Stearns” and was ultimately escorted out of Citi Field by police.
Security took his first “Fire Stearns” sign, so this guy quickly made a second smaller one, and was rewarded with a police escort out of the stadium to supportive crowd chants of, you guessed it, “Fire Stearns.” #Mets pic.twitter.com/UeTZF438bo
— Everybody’s Uncle Dave (@dave_conklin) June 27, 2026
Mets owner Steve Cohen addressed the incident Sunday morning while responding to fans on social media.
A fan wrote: “[Steve Cohen] is this how you treat your fans? Refund this guy’s ticket and send him freebies.”
“I’m cool with fans expressing themselves and carrying signs. I’m not cool when fans around him are complaining that he was ruining their day at the ballpark,” Cohen responded. “He was belligerent and was asked to be more considerate to paying customers around him. Unfortunately, he refused.”
I’m cool with fans expressing themselves and carrying signs .I’m not cool when fans around him are complaining that he was ruining their day at the ballpark . He was belligerent and was asked to be more considerate to paying customer around him. Unfortunately , he refused.
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) June 28, 2026
Why Stearns’ Job Is Safe For Now
While the Mets roster has plenty of talent that Stearns assembled on paper, it simply has not translated into wins.
That said, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, one reason Stearns’ job has not been put in more immediate jeopardy is that teams rarely fire top executives so close to key roster-building dates like the amateur draft on Aug. 3.
“Clubs rarely fire top executives this close to the amateur draft, which takes place July 11 to 13, and the trade deadline, which is Aug. 3,” Rosenthal said. “Why would a team, if it is even considering a change, entrust a suspect leader with potentially franchise-altering decisions?”
Cohen is not typically hesitant to make major organizational changes, even when financial implications are involved. He has consistently been one of baseball’s highest spenders. However, Stearns was someone he targeted for several years for the role and is under contract through 2028.
Steve Cohen Addresses ‘Belligerent’ Mets Fan Removed From Ballpark