New York Mets owner Steven Cohen is one of the most vocal and social media friendly team owners in sports. It’s a passion for the team that he owns that not every owner seems to have and that resonates with Mets fans.
Cohen’s transparency on Twitter, despite that being a breath of fresh air for fans and the media, can sometimes come with unintended consequences. That was the topic of an article by Mike Puma of the New York Post. In the story, Puma explained that “a former MLB executive” had concerns about how Cohen’s tweeting could cause some execs to turn down the vacant president of baseball operations job if the owner of the Mets is tweeting about the team all the time.
That’s not exactly a hot take. It might not be the main reason somebody would turn down a front office job with an MLB team but it certainly doesn’t help. Nevertheless, Cohen didn’t appreciate that dig and offered his Citi Field suite to anyone who could figure out the source.
“Insightful” source in Mike Puma’s article in the New York Post today .The person who can guess the source correctly will have the opportunity to sit with me in my suite at Citifield.First one right wins.
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) September 16, 2021
It seemed like Cohen already knew (or who he thought was) the source before the initial tweet because he revealed that someone had already cracked the case four minutes later. Cohen took two more winners and later revealed that the answer was former Miami Marlins president David Samson.
Well , Twitter figured it out as usual. The source, who has already put out a pre- denial denial is David Samson.I will have my press people reach out to the 3 winners
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) September 16, 2021
Samson and Puma denied Samson was the source, which doesn’t really do much because those who think it’s him will just say, “That’s what they would say if Samson was the source.” There’s a chance it’s Samson and it very well could be him, but if this was in a court of law, there wouldn’t be enough to convict.
1. When I say something, it’s on the record and my name is attached.
2. The universe of potential sources is endless.
3. I would be happy to come to a game with you so you are not alone.
4. Good luck the rest of the way.
5. It’s just business. It’s Nothing Personal. https://t.co/D9sruALlpK— David P. Samson (@DavidPSamson) September 16, 2021
I am not going to take guesses all day on the identity of the "former MLB executive" I quoted in my story today. I will say it's not David Samson. That's it. https://t.co/lw0axbuK0V
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) September 16, 2021
Whether or not it was Samson who was Puma’s source, Cohen seems satisfied that the case is closed and three fans are getting a great experience in the owner’s suite.
There is still the issue, good and bad, about Cohen’s tweeting. Especially when it comes to responding to stories about him and the Mets that might not be 100% positive or fair. On one hand, an argument could be made that Cohen’s tweeting inspires the media to do more stories about him knowing that he’s going to respond and that in turn generates more clicks. On the other hand, he’s not only defending himself and the team that he owns, but in this case he’s also bashing the New York Post.
Bashing the New York Post, sometimes two wrongs make a right.