New York Mets president Sandy Alderson said the thumbs-down gesture done by Javier Báez and other players in response to booing fans is "totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
"Mets fans are understandably frustrated over the team’s recent performance," Alderson said in a statement. "The players and the organization are equally frustrated, but fans at Citi Field have every right to express their own disappointment. Booing is every fan’s right.
"The Mets will not tolerate any player gesture that is unprofessional in its meaning or is directed in a negative way toward our fans. I will be meeting with our players and staff to convey this message directly."
Baez, Francisco Lindor and Kevin Pillar all did the gesture during the Mets’ 9-4 win against the Washington Nationals on Sunday. The Mets won consecutive games this weekend but have lost 19 of 27 games in August as part of a plummet from first place in the National League East to third behind Atlanta and Philadelphia at 63-67.
“It’s just the boos that we get,” said Báez, who has slashed .210/.258/.452 in 17 games since being acquired from the Cubs before the trade deadline. “We’re not machines. We’re going to struggle. We’re going to struggle seven times out of 10.
“It just feels bad. When I strike out and I get booed, it doesn’t really get to me, but 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. Because if we win together, we’ve got to lose together. The fans are a really big part of it. In my case, they’ve got to be better. I play for the fans, I love the fans, but if they’re gonna do that, they’re just putting more pressure on the team and that’s not what we want.”
When the gesture was explained to Mets manager Luis Rojas on Sunday by media, he said he didn’t know that’s what players were doing.
“They’ve been doing all sorts of salutes from the dugout onto the bases, so I didn’t know there was any intention of giving anything back to the fans,” Rojas said. “Our job is to be prepared to come out and play and give the very best version of baseball that the fanbase needs.
“We want to win for the organization, we want to win for ourselves, we want to win for the front office, our owner, and we want to win for the fanbase. That’s where our focus should be. Javy is probably learning from this experience because this is new for him; that’s where he’s coming from with this. This is something that maybe other players go through when they come and play here. It’s something, knowing Javy, he’s a really good player, a really good kid. It’s something that will be part of his learning experience here.”
(Photo: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)
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This Week In Mets: Inside Javier Báez’s thumbs-down gesture to let fans know ‘how it feels’ to be booed
Assessing the Mets' struggles
Rustin Dodd, staff writer: When the Mets acquired Baez on July 30, they were 54-47 and possessed a 3 1/2-game lead in the NL East standings. Some cracks, of course, had already begun to show. Jacob deGrom was sidelined. The pitching staff was ravaged by injury. The offense was showing signs of life but making no great strides.
Nearly one month later, the club is 9-20 in its last 29 games and it began Sunday 7 1/2 games out of first place. Before a home run on Sunday in a win over Washington, Baez was hitting .207 with a .672 OPS in a Mets uniform. He’s also battled injury since arriving in Queens. Which is to say: You can understand the frustration in the Mets clubhouse. The offense remains one of the worst in the league. DeGrom is still out. It’s been a difficult month. Still, Baez’s comments will inspire plenty of valid questions about the Mets’ focus and overall mood. When the going gets tough, the Mets give a big thumbs down to their fans.
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The Mets' chances of making the postseason
Dodd: According to FanGraphs' playoff odds, the Mets woke up Sunday with a 1.8 percent chance to win the NL East and a 0.6 percent chance to snag an NL Wild Card. Put simply: Considering the recent performance and the deficit in the NL East race, the Mets will need a minor miracle to win the division.
It’s not impossible, of course, but it would require the Braves face-planting in September, the Phillies continuing to slide and the Mets playing their best baseball in September. With deGrom’s status in question — even if he returns, it won’t be until later in September — a playoff run seems almost unfathomable at this point. Then again, stranger things have happened.