I knew Javy Báez – and the extremes in his game that just take a lot of time to accept – would not be appreciated appropriately by Mets fans out of the gate. I hoped for his sake that he’d be so dang good that none of it mattered, but unfortunately he dealt with struggles and injuries, and it happened against the backdrop of the Mets stinking horribly overall. I feel bad for them, or at least for Javy, specifically.
That said, I didn’t quite expect Báez to come right out and shove it back at the fans. This takes balls, and I can’t lie … I don’t hate it:
Javier Baez said Mets’ thumbs-down celebration after big hits is a message to fans, who have booed him & others.
“In my case, they (the fans) gotta be better,” Baez said. “It’s just how I feel. I love the fans I like playing for the fans, but we can’t have our fans against us.”
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) August 29, 2021
Javier Baez on booing Mets fans back: “To let them know that when we don’t get success, we’re going to get booed. So they’re going to get booed when we get success.”
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) August 29, 2021
Báez to fans: “They’re going to get booed when we get success.”
— Deesha (@DeeshaThosar) August 29, 2021
Francisco Lindor, Javier Báez and Kevin Pillar were among those Mets players to flash thumbs-down signs after their hits today.
“When we don’t get success, we’re going to get booed,” Báez explained afterward. “So they [the fans] are going to get booed when we get success.” pic.twitter.com/TGX55fQM2O
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 29, 2021
WOW. That’s about as bold as it gets in telling your own teams’ fans to stick it.
And Báez is right to feel however he feels, and however his teammates feel. He’s a human, too. My take on booing has always been something like this: you can do whatever you want, but the players are usually out there trying their hardest, and your boos really aren’t going to change much. Me personally? If someone is being an asshole or something, yeah, I might boo them. But if a guy boots a ball or strikes out a lot? I don’t really get the point. But you do you.
And more germane to this discussion, if the players want to respond to those boos from their own fans? If they want to explain how they’re feeling? Then that’s fine, too. Booing the fans right back when the player succeeds? It’s kinda funny to me.
As for Báez and the Mets long-term, I, uh, think he’ll probably be hitting free agency. And maybe those Cubs reunion rumors will tick back up, given how much Javy appreciated Cubs fans and his time in Chicago.
UPDATE: Good God, the Mets responded with an OFFICIAL TEAM STATEMENT dumping on Báez.