Optimists looking for a way to have hope as the 2026 Mets season unfolds look back no further than 2024, when the team overcame a horrendous start and propelled themselves into the National league Championship Series. The season was David Stearns' first as the team’s head of baseball operations, and his first major task was finding a manager to replace Buck Showalter, whom owner Steve Cohen fired, ostensibly to give the about-to-be-named top baseball executive