Only the New York Mets Could Embarrass Themselves With Their Own Thumbs in a Victory
Who has two thumbs and is sick of Mets fans' poor attitude? This guy.
Javier Baez on the thumbs down sign Mets players have been flashing to the crowd after big hits: "To let [the fans] know when we don't get success we're going to get booed, so they are going to get booed when we have success."
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) August 29, 2021
On Sunday, following the New York Mets' 9-3 win over the Atlanta Braves, shortstop Javier Baez revealed that the thumbs down he and teammates had been flashing was directed at Mets fans who had been booing them during the team's recent struggles. The Mets quickly went into damage control by releasing a statement supporting Mets fans' First Amendment right to boo, but not the players' right to respond.
The New York Mets just put out a statement in which the team president said it's OK for fans to boo, it's not OK for players to mock their fans for booing and there's going to be a team meeting to address this. pic.twitter.com/xWNj3NFoBu
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 30, 2021
Owner Steve Cohen took to Twitter to make a joke.
I miss the days when the biggest controversy was the black jerseys
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) August 30, 2021
There are basically two sides of this controversy. You can think this is a harmless gesture and players should be able to respond to fans, or you think this is part of the job and players shouldn't be trying to antagonize the home fans. Either way, this is an objectively funny situation.
Javy Baez and his teammates are doing the thumbs down, which is as innocuous a gesture as exists. And the Mets have turned it into a statement from the front office-generating controversy.
This is so unserious a thing that it's embarrassing. Buster Olney actually thinks this could hurt Javier Baez in free agency, but isn't it more likely his performance has hurt that already? The fans don't boo success and nobody cares what direction a players thumbs are pointing as long as they're healthy.
It’s impossible to think of another prospective free agent making a bigger public relations mistake then Javier Baez did today. Burned one bridge, and likely severely damaged his chances w other teams. Francisco Lindor needs to prepare an explanation for his participation, too.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) August 30, 2021
Just like with free agency, Baez and the Mets have no one to blame but themselves. If they hadn't been playing so poorly the fans never would have booed. I mean, they would have booed a little, but that's just New York, baby!
If Baez finishes the season on a hot streak, the money will return. If the Mets keep winning fans will no longer boo. And this whole thing will go away on its own.