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.

Reward players with extensions

The relationship between the front office and the players is sometimes overlooked. We’re seeing it a little more this winter as players can finally express some positivity toward Cohen and Company.

One way to build a positive relationship is to reward players with extensions. They shouldn’t be handed out haphazardly without much thought. However, if you go through any MLB roster, there are surely at least one or two players worthy of a long-term deal.

This does a few things. It builds trust with players. Not only will the ones you have under team control have a little more respect, but so will those free agents you may target in the future. Unfortunately, we sometimes get caught up in thinking of players as salaries and statistics. In actuality, they are human beings with souls, emotions, and grudges.

The Mets can start this process with an extension for Michael Conforto. It might not happen this offseason. What’s important is that it does happen before he reaches free agency.

I do believe extending Conforto is on Cohen’s to-do list. Whether it’s one of the first major moves the organization makes or something that takes until spring doesn’t matter. As long as Conforto feels the love at some point before the season begins, all should be well.

The Mets have several extension candidates coming up in the next few years. Conforto is the most pressing, but let’s also not forget about Noah Syndergaard. He also reaches free agency after the 2021 season.

For a Gold Standard franchise, the expectation should be that the team at least has a willingness to negotiate honestly and fairly. Keeping your top players in town is important for the fans and the team’s chemistry. It’s one thing we will hopefully see a lot more of in the coming years.