When Steve Cohen first purchased the Mets, a certain somebody wrote that the changing of the guard at the top of the organization could represent a complete identity change for the New York Mets. The Wilpons had their hands in so many facets of the team that simply removing them and installing somebody else in their position could change everything we knew about the lame, annoying, boring Mets.
Unfortunately, the first year of Cohen’s ownership didn’t exactly live up to that promise. It was a turbulent season all around. Whether it was due to members of the old guard still holding leadership positions in parts of the organization, the lack of time to implement new processes in just one offseason, the weirdness of the first year coming off the pandemic, or some unspoken agreement to lay low in Cohen’s first year and not completely blow up the free agent economy, the 2021 season felt like far too close to a Wilpon year for comfort.