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Steve Cohen Announces Completion of Mets Purchase for Reported Record $2.475B
November 6, 2020
Steve Cohen took to Twitter on Friday to announce the official completion of his purchase of the New York Mets from the Wilpon family:
According to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, Cohen released the following statement regarding the purchase: "This is a significant milestone in the history of this storied franchise. I want to thank everybody who helped make this happen. The 2021 season is right around the corner and we've got a lot of work to do, so I'm excited to get started. Let's go Mets!"
MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported that the sale price of the Mets is an MLB-record $2.475 billion.
The MLB owners approved Cohen's purchase of the Mets last week. Per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, Cohen required 23 votes in favor of the sale, and the final tally was 26-4.
Cohen was originally positioned to buy the Mets earlier this year, but he pulled out of the purchase due to his dissatisfaction with some of the language involved in the agreement.
The billionaire hedge fund manager put himself back in the mix in recent months and outbid some other high-profile suitors, including former MLB superstar Alex Rodriguez and Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils principal owner Josh Harris.
There is a great deal of excitement among Mets fans regarding Cohen's purchasing of the team due to the belief that he will spend big money in an effort to bring the franchise its first World Series championship since 1986.
Mike Puma of the New York Post reported last month that Cohen's intends to make the Mets the "East Coast Dodgers" by leaning on analytics and spending money on quality players.
The Dodgers won their first World Series title since 1988 this year, and their roster is strong enough that they figure to contend for many years to come.
While the Mets have some good pieces in place, such as two-time reigning National League Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom and 2019 NL Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso, success has eluded them in recent years.
New York has missed the playoffs in each of the past four seasons, including 2020 despite the fact that each league expanded to eight playoff teams amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Mets did reach the World Series in 2015 where they lost to the Kansas City Royals, but they have just two playoff appearances to their credit in the past 14 years.
Although the Wilpon family was unable to bring a championship to the Mets after becoming the sole owners in 2002, Cohen has already made it clear that winning will be a top priority during his tenure.