John Stearns
From The Met Wiki
John Stearns was a catcher for the Mets for 10 seasons. Between 1975 and 1984, Stearns played in 809 games and batted .259 with 46 home runs and 312 runs batted in. John was named to the National League All-Star team four times during his career.
Stearns came to the Mets in a six-player trade with the Phillies on December 3, 1974. In his first two seasons as a Met, he got 59 hits in 91 games played. John's first hit was a double against the Cardinals on April 16, 1975 and his first homer came 14 days later in Chicago. On September 16, 1976, Stearns was the catcher for Jerry Koosman's 20th win of the season.
John had a breakout season in 1977. He played 139 games and led the Mets with 25 doubles and 12 home runs. He homered in the Mets' home opening win against the Cardinals on April 12 and hit a grand slam on June 1 in the team's 6-4 win at Montreal. John was the catcher for Tom Seaver's last game with the Mets on June 12 and made his first All-Star Game appearance at Yankee Stadium on July 19. He also scored two runs in the Mets' 8-7 victory over the Dodgers in 12 innings on August 1 at Shea.
In 1978, Stearns set a National League record for stolen bases by a catcher with 25. For the season, he batted .264 with 15 homers and 73 RBIs in 143 games. John hit a game-tying, two-run double in the Mets' 9-7 victory at Houston on May 27. On June 30, he put on an eye-catching display of his toughness by surviving a charge by the Pirates' Dave Parker on a play at the plate. With Parker running him over, Stearns hung on to the ball for the game's final out while big Dave suffered a fractured cheekbone. John drove in four runs with a single and a double in the Mets' 7-4 victory over the Astros in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea on July 20. He also hit a three-run homer off Steve Carlton in the Mets' 5-1 win at Philadelphia on August 1.
John became a National League All-Star again in 1979, but did not appear in the Game in Seattle. He did appear in the Game in Los Angeles in 1980, but soon began to experience health problems. Stearns suffered a broken right index finger and was put on the disabled list on July 26. He didn't return until 1981, when he hit .271 in the strike-shortened season.
Stearns became an All-Star for the fourth time in 1982. He played in the ninth inning of the Game in Montreal. For the season, John batted .293 in 98 games. He got 4 of the Mets' 13 singles in a 4-2 win over the Dodgers on May 13 at Shea Stadium. At the Houston Astrodome on May 22, Stearns got two singles, a double, a triple and two stolen bases in the Mets' 6-5 win over the Astros. He also scored the winning run in the game. At Shea on May 31, John had two singles, a double and three runs batted in as the Mets defeated the Braves, 10-4. He hit a two-run triple in the 10th inning for a 5-4 Mets triumph at St. Louis on June 20. Unfortunately for John, he was again on the disabled list from August 20 to September 7 with a sore right elbow.
John's elbow injuries limited him to a total of 12 games over the 1983 and 1984 seasons. On September 30, 1984, he got a run-scoring single in his last major league at bat.
Stearns went on to a career a coach and manager in the minor leagues. In 2003, he managed the Mets' AA team at Binghamton and their AAA team at Norfolk in 2004.
