In , Stearns returned to the New York Mets as an advance scout. He was then made the Mets' bench coach in 2000. He was dismissed after the season, but re-hired as the third base coach. Younger fans witnessed Stearns's enthusiasm and excitability while he was a Mets coach in . He was wearing a microphone for Fox television when the Mets' Mike Piazza hit a run-scoring double in Game 1 of the 2000 NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals. Stearns's audible reaction of "The monster is out of the cage!" became a rallying cry for the entire series, which the Mets won four games to one.