The Mets’ Thumbs Down Celebration Was An Absolute Joke

Story posted September 1, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Logan Bourandas

The Mets thumbs down celebration was an absolute joke.

It took awhile for the New York Mets to make negative headlines this season, but it finally came.

August has been a rough month in general for the Mets, which has seen them fall out of first place in the NL East as well as below .500. Naturally, the reaction from fans hasn’t been great whenever the Mets play in their home stadium at Citi Field.

This past weekend Mets players, specifically infielders Francisco Lindor and Javier Báez, decided to send a message to those fans.

During the Mets'  9-4 win over the Washington Nationals, Baez and Lindor were both seen making the thumbs down gesture whenever they got on base. Thus on a rare day when the Mets were winning during the month of August, instead of Mets fans cheering together, Citi Field was filled with boos and no one was happy about it.

Team president Sandy Alderson and owner Steve Cohen both put out statements not long after the game and Alderson said a team meeting would be held. That led to both Báez and Lindor apologizing ahead of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Miami Marlins, but the damage had already been done.

During an important time for the Mets where a few series wins could jolt them back into the playoff race, the players created a disconnect with the fans who have been one of the more loyal bunch in the MLB.

Despite all that had gone wrong with the Mets leading up to that Sunday win, there were still over twenty-four thousand fans who took time out of their day to make a trip to Citi Field. Those fans who decided to support the Mets, despite the struggles were all treated with a negative reaction from the players and it’s an absolute disgrace to the sport of baseball.

The reaction from around the league has only continued to make this a bigger joke for the Mets. During the Mets first game of a doubleheader against the Marlins today, Marlins first baseman Jesús Aguilar got in an argument with Lindor and used that same thumbs down sign he used on fans just a few days earlier.

Sunday’s events mark one of the lowest points the Mets have hit this season, and the worst part may be that there is still over a month left to go.

 

Logan Bourandas is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.

Tagged in:

mets , thumbs down