Javier Baez and the Mets have a clear message for the fans.
Baez parked a monster two-run home run into the left field second deck in the Mets’ 9-4 win over the Nationals on Sunday at Citi Field. The crowd exploded with applause and cheers as Baez’s fourth home run for the Mets gave his new team the lead.
As Baez touched home plate, he put his thumbs down. He did that gesture repeatedly, before going into the dugout to rejoice with the rest of his teammates.
After the game, Baez explained that the Mets’ new celebration—a thumbs-down gesture that was also displayed by Francisco Lindor and Kevin Pillar when they got on base in Sunday’s win—is his teammates’ way of “booing” the fans.
“When we don’t get success, we’re going to get booed,” Baez said. “So they’re going to get booed when we get success.”
Lindor this season has also expressed frustration with the Mets fan base for booing him when he was slumping to start his career in Queens. The superstar shortstop was signed to an 10-year $341 million contract extension before the 2021 season, and Mets fans have had high expectations for him ever since.
Those same expectations have been applied to Baez, the former Cubs shortstop who joined the Mets at last month’s trade deadline. He has 22 strikeouts and four home runs in 17 games with the Amazin’s, batting .213 in that stretch which included a trip to the injured list due to back spasms.
“It’s the boos that we get,” Baez said. “We’re not machines. We’re going to struggle seven times out of 10. It just feels bad when I strike out and I get booed. I want to let them know that when we have success, we’re going to do the same thing to let them know how it feels.
“In my case, they [the fans] gotta be better. I play for the fans and I love the fans. But if they’re going to do that, they’re just putting more pressure on the team. That’s not what we want.”
Baez indicated that it was his idea to start the thumbs-down celebration. His manager, Luis Rojas, said he didn’t know that the gesture was intended for the fans. The skipper, who was also booed with “Fire Rojas” chants on Wednesday after a pitching change, added that Mets fans “have the right to act however they want.”
The Mets (63-67) on Sunday won just their eighth game of August. The club has gone 16-27 since the All-Star break, a free fall that included dropping out of first place, a position it held for 90 days, and into third, 7.5 games behind the Braves. The Mets have not sniffed the playoffs in half a decade, and they haven’t won a championship in 35 years.
“Javy being a new guy here and getting to know our fan base, and some of the reactions that our fan base has, I just see it as something he’s learning,” Rojas said. “Our fans are like that, they’re very passionate. They demand the best. They demand wins.”
The manager indicated that the customer is always right. But the players? They’d rather celebrate their hits by giving their loyal and paying customers a thumbs down.
