How the Mets can become the Gold Standard of Major League Baseball

To beat the best, you have to be the best. The New York Mets have a chance to set the standard of what an elite franchise looks like.

Expectations are high under Steve Cohen. Even before he raised them even further during his introductory press conference, New York Mets fans were expecting at least a few parades in the coming years.

The Mets are doing more than raising the bar. They are changing the perception of their franchise and setting a new Gold Standard in Major League Baseball.

The culture change around the Mets is real. To become the new top dog in the sport, there are a few short and long-term goals they need to meet.

Aim to win every year

Remember life before tanking in sports? It seems like it has been going on for a lifetime. In actuality, it’s a very 2010s thing.

Major League Baseball has not been spared from it. While teams don’t tank the same way as they might in other sports, the rebuilding process is as much about tearing it all down as it is building it all back up again. Because of this, not every team aims to win each year.

The Mets should be different. Cohen seems eager to win. Even if the results aren’t there, it won’t be for lack of trying.

To become the Gold Standard in anything, it’s important the effort is there. In sports, it means putting the best team possible on the field every year. We haven’t seen the Mets do that too much in the last decade. When things went well, the front office failed to go that extra mile.

It’s impossible to win a championship every year. What’s not so impossible is to try your best. For the Mets, this means honestly reassessing the roster every offseason. Add the right players. Don’t be afraid to spend money. And most important of all, put the team first.

Develop and nurture minor league talent

Finally, there’s one of the most impactful and difficult challenges any team can undertake. Developing and nurturing minor league talent sounds a lot easier than it is. Hundreds of players with varying futures all need to be put in the best position to succeed. Unfortunately, many never will reach their potential.

The Mets haven’t been the greatest at handling their minor leaguers in recent years. This needs to change under the new regime as they correctly scout their own future stars and hold onto the ones that can be big league difference-makers.

The current Mets have several players who came up through the minor league system and are now core members of the franchise. The successes they have had must continue. It also needs to translate with others, specifically their pitchers.

The Mets have developed some very good position players in recent years, but haven’t been as lucky with pitchers. David Peterson might be an exception. How they handle him will say a lot about the direction this franchise is going when it comes to their young stars.

It will take a while for the Mets to undo any of the negative effects the minor league system has experienced in recent years. Fortunately, it’s not as big of a mess as it could be. They have drafted well and should be able to have some notable prospects on the farm soon enough.

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Until then, the Mets need to stop trading away so many young players. They need to have top prospects ready to emerge each year and become true MLB stars. We may need to have a little more patience in this regard.