What does it mean for David Stearns era?

Buck Showalter was popular within the Mets clubhouse and within the Mets fan base.

As a manager, he was baseball-savvy enough to earn a reputation as a detail-oriented and game-knowledgeable savant — and media-savvy enough to present himself as relatable and lovable. He was seen by many as a baseball genius; he was seen by more as folksy and down-home Uncle Buck.

For baseball reasons and for reasons of goodwill, the easy decision would have been to retain Showalter as manager.

Showalter had a year left on his contract. He could have been brought back for what might have been a final season ready to produce results quickly or to serve as a lame duck, presumably until he served as a scapegoat.

If the Mets were winning in 2024? Great! If the Mets were losing in 2024? It would not have completely reflected the new regime of David Stearns, who could then fire Showalter, blame the past and find his own manager for the future.

For reputational and survival reasons, the easy decision would have been to retain Showalter as manager.

But in Stearns’ first act as the Mets’ shadow president of baseball operations — one day before Stearns officially becomes president of baseball operations — he chose the more difficult path, one that asserts the 2024 Mets will be his own, through good or through bad.

In firing Showalter, Stearns ended one era and began another with a swift execution that leaves little doubt: The Mets are in Stearns’ hands, and he will have no one else to blame if the disaster of 2023 carries into 2024.

The New York public has learned little about Stearns, who will be introduced as the new Mets boss on Monday afternoon.

What has become clear, though, is Stearns is less interested in stability and built-in excuses and more interested in ensuring the Mets’ staff is to his liking. That writing was on the wall about a month ago, when the Mets fired the heads of several of their baseball-operations departments, including farm director Kevin Howard and director of pro player evaluation Jeff Lebow, which allows Stearns to come aboard and handpick his own lieutenants.

That writing on the wall was underlined Sunday, when Showalter himself announced his own firing.

“When you bring in a president of baseball ops, they’re entitled to bring in their own people,” owner Steve Cohen said Sunday after the Mets’ season and Showalter’s tenure ended. “It became clear that [Steans] wanted to go in a different direction.

“It’s nothing different than a CEO comes into a new company, he brings in his own people.”

By bringing in his own people and dumping Showalter, Stearns offered the first clues about his management style.

The same executive who once disrupted the Brewers’ clubhouse (and arguably tanked their 2022 season) by trading closer Josh Hader will not be afraid to make unpopular decisions if he believes a move is worth making.

Can we extrapolate this tendency and wonder whether Stearns’ willingness to make the right baseball move — and not the most-applauded — can be extended toward Pete Alonso?

Just about every Mets fan on the planet wants to see the face of the organization — the best power hitter in the franchise’s history and the undisputed clubhouse leader — return not just next year but be extended, making him a Met for life.

Locking up Alonso this offseason would grant Stearns significant goodwill with the fan base. Even if the move backfired, odds are it would not look like a poor decision for another several years, buying Stearns plenty of time.

But maybe a president of baseball operations who is looking to make transactions he believes in rather than moves that prompt applause would be more open to trading Alonso, who can be a free agent after next season and is a first baseman, a less-premium position and a position at which players tend to age poorly.

The fans are aware of Alonso’s tenuous future, giving the three-time All-Star a standing ovation when he stepped up to bat in Sunday’s ninth inning, his final at-bat in 2023 and perhaps final as a Met.

We will learn much more about Stearns on Monday, when he will be given a chance to outline his vision for turning the Mets into a perennial contender. His first notable move will technically predate his tenure.

“These are never easy decisions,” Cohen said, perhaps incorrectly.

Stearns’ Mets faced what might have been an easy decision and chose the harder path. In time, we will learn what this means for the Mets’ and Alonso’s futures.

Judge rules on Yankees ‘numbers’

The Mets’ changes will be obvious. The Yankees’ might be more subtle.

It certainly sounds as if Sean Casey can return as hitting coach, which likely would mean Brian Cashman’s reign as GM would continue and Aaron Boone — Casey’s close friend — would be back as manager. There are still conversations to be had, but the Yankees exploring Casey’s interest in remaining bodes well for the status quo.

If the Yankees indeed bring back the public-facing voices of the organization, it would be the behind-the-scenes figures who bear the blame for an 82-80 season that officially ended Sunday with a loss to the Royals.

Aaron Judge — the team’s captain and a rare player whose voice matters to the front office — has not publicly jabbed Boone or Casey for a hitting attack that vanished this season. His most damning remarks were saved for the analytics team that supplies the data for each at-bat and each opposing pitcher.

“I wouldn’t say [we get] overloaded,” Judge said this weekend, via The Post’s Greg Joyce. “I think it’s just looking at the right numbers. You get a lot of numbers, but I think maybe we might be looking at the wrong ones.”

Is he referring to an overreliance on exit velocity — simply hitting the ball hard — rather than valuing hitters who excel in different areas in the box?

Is there a metric that Yankees brains are overvaluing to the detriment of another metric?

Regardless of the specifics, the criticism is directed at the analytics team, which surely will face questions during the much-talked-about audit that Hal Steinbrenner has ordered for the organization.

Today’s back page

Zach Wilson was not the problem

The New York baseball season closed and handed off Sunday night to the New York football season, which managed to entertain — a lot more than can be said for plenty of Jets games.

There were plenty of positives, but the outcome was the same for Robert Saleh’s gang in a 23-20 loss to the Chiefs.

A stunning performance from Zach Wilson turned a Taylor Swift watch party into a football game.

The Jets, down 17-0 after one quarter with more focus on a star-studded MetLife Stadium suite than on the field, turned to their young, nearly written-off quarterback who led a pair of touchdown drives and largely looked more impressive than the best quarterback alive.

It was Patrick Mahomes who was making bad decisions with the ball and throwing two interceptions — three, actually, but a questionable holding call on Sauce Gardner nullified the third and devastated the Jets.

It was Wilson who was throwing a back-shoulder dart to Allen Lazard for a game-tying touchdown and throwing anywhere near Garrett Wilson, who seems capable of catching anything in his vicinity.

Wilson, who rolled out more often, looked more comfortable than he ever has as a pro and delivered maybe his most consistent game, despite a costly late fumble.

But the game will be remembered more for Saleh’s fury than Wilson’s dimes.

Killer penalties called on the Jets continually extended the final Chiefs drive — including a ticky-tack defensive holding call that erased a Michael Carter pick. Saleh was so furious he screamed at an official until he was called for unsportsmanlike conduct.

It is progress — but not yet enough progress — that fingers are no longer pointing at the quarterback after a Jets loss.

Giants try to avoid 1-3

On tap for Monday night is another test at MetLife Stadium.

Daniel Jones will not have Andrew Thomas, likely his best offensive lineman, and probably will not have Saquon Barkley, his best weapon.

The Giants’ defense will be playing a Seahawks offense that has scored 37 points in consecutive games.

With the Giants (1-2) next traveling to Miami and Buffalo, it’s on Jones to show he can carry the offense like he so often did last year.

Welcome to October