NEW YORK — Two Mets learned a simple New York truth the hard way: don’t mess with the fans.
Forty-three hours after Javy Baez sent the New York sports world into a frenzy by explaining he and other Mets were “booing” the fans by giving them a thumbs down, the team brought out Baez and Francisco Lindor to the media in an attempt to walk back the comments that enraged a part of the fan base.
“I didn’t say the fans are bad. I love the fans,” Baez said on Tuesday. “I just felt like we were alone. The fans obviously want to win and they pay our salary, like everybody says, but we want to win too. The frustration got to us. I didn’t mean to offend anybody. And if I offended anybody, we apologize.”
Baez cranked a two-run home run in Sunday’s win against the Nationals and as he touched home plate, he put his thumbs down. In his postgame interview, the two-time All-Star said: “When we don’t get success, we’re going to get booed. So they [the fans] are going to get booed when we get success.”
The former Cubs shortstop arrived in Queens at July’s trade deadline and had a .210/.258/.452 slashline, .709 OPS, four home runs and 22 strikeouts in 17 games for the Mets when he decided to take a dig at the Flushing Faithful. Baez has heard it from the Citi Field crowd after swinging wildly at pitches outside, a trademark of his, and striking out in his first month with the Mets.
“The fans are gonna be the fans,” Baez said. “That’s something we can’t control. If they boo the team or they boo me, I can accept it. If they accept my apologies, I’ll be open to the fans and for the love of the game.”
Lindor, who also participated in the thumbs-down gesture Sunday and during several games in August, was more forthright about his involvement in the ridiculous controversy than his childhood friend, Baez. After all, Lindor before this season signed a 10-year, $341 million contract with the Mets that begins next year.
“Thumbs down, for me, means the adversity we have gone through in this whole time — like the negative things — we’ve overcome it. We did it. We went over it,” Lindor said. “However, it was wrong, and I apologize to whoever I offended. It was not my intent to offend people. We can’t go against the fans. I’ve never done it in my career.
“We play for the fans, for our teammates, for the front office, for our families, for the city. With that being said, I apologize. It didn’t look good on our part.”
Lindor has expressed frustration with Mets fans for booing him all year, particularly when he started his Queens career in an April slump. With just over four weeks left in the season, he’s still underperforming — batting .224 with a 89 OPS+ and 11 home runs in 93 games.
“The media here is an honest one,” Lindor said. “The fans here are honest. In other places they’re very honest, but they keep to themselves a little bit more, kind of like me. Here, I have a lot of respect for people. They’re very honest and they let you know right away. As soon as I come down, I sucked, I made an error, they’ll let me know, ‘You sucked!’ What can I say? What am I getting into an argument? No, that’s not right.”
The shortstop was asked whether the team has been accountable this season — especially after plunging from first place, a position it held for nearly three months, to third place in the NL East in a span of eight days. Marcus Stroman routinely blames the media for causing controversy and being negative about a sub-.500 team. After the Mets were swept in Philly this month, Pete Alonso told Mets fans to “just smile” because they get to watch baseball.
“I don’t think we have a bunch of guys complaining all the time about the media, the fans, the city. No no no,” Lindor said. “We’re playing the game. We’re trying to win. We’re trying to do whatever it takes to win and represent the organization the right way. And I plan to be here a long time.”
The thumbs-down gesture ticked off team president Sandy Alderson enough to release a stern statement on Sunday night. Alderson called the thumbs down “unprofessional,” and as he promised in the statement, the Mets held a team meeting on Tuesday to talk about the situation. Mets manager Luis Rojas said he will keep the details in-house, but he was proud of Baez and Lindor for being accountable and apologizing on Tuesday.
“Javier and Francisco showed up and they were accountable for some of their actions and comments,” Rojas said. “Everyone is learning. Sometimes we’ll make decisions and they’re not always going to be the right ones.”
Baez added on the team meeting: “They told us to be ourselves. Obviously, we are going to be professional. ... The fans can do whatever they want. They’re gonna do them, and we can’t control that. We just want to win, as the front office [does], and the fans.”
“I’m a man,” Lindor said. “I’m accountable for my mistake, and it was a mistake by putting the thumbs down at a time when it didn’t need to be. My thumb didn’t need to be down.”
As Baez walked off the field Tuesday and into the clubhouse, one Mets fan standing just above the dugout leaned against the netting and said seven words that are crucial to getting the team out of their latest senseless mess.
“Javy, I just want to win, man,” the fan said. Baez looked up at him and smiled. That is all anyone wants.
