Bo Bichette’s graceful reaction to boos is more than Mets fans deserve

Bo Bichette's three-year, $126 million deal with the New York Mets came with massive expectations, and it goes without saying that Bichette's first series with his new team didn't come close to meeting them. The two-time All-Star drove in the Mets' first run of the season with a sacrifice fly on Opening Day, but followed that up by going 1-for-14 with eight strikeouts, many of which took place in big moments. The response to Bichette's bad weekend was a chorus of boos from his new fan base.

That's right - Mets fans went out of their way to boo their new star player after one (1) bad series - a series that the Mets still won. Fortunately for them, Bichette took the high road to this despicable action with his postgame comments. Whether Mets fans deserved that, though, can be debated.

Mets fans don't deserve Bo Bichette taking the high road

I understand Mets fans' frustration. As a Mets fan myself, I can't say I'm thrilled with Bichette striking out in more than half of his plate appearances in his first series as a Met, especially when he's known for being such an elite contact hitter. The at-bats themselves didn't look good at all, as Bichette noted.

Still, is this really how you want to be treating your new star player, who, mind you, has an opt-out after the year? What does booing him actually accomplish other than just venting your frustrations? Do Mets fans seriously think that if they start booing, Bichette (or any other slumping hitter) would suddenly realize that they're struggling? Don't you think he knows he's struggling?

I'm not here to tell fans how to fan. Paying customers can, and should, do just about anything as long as there isn't profanity or anything inappropriate involved. Booing is well within their right, even if it's aimed at their own players. However, all booing really does is get under people's skin. There's a reason fans boo players they don't like, usually on the other team.

All booing will do is make players press more, and 99 percent of the time, the reason players are struggling has nothing to do with effort. Mets fans don't seem to know that baseball is a game of failure - even the Hall of Famers fail seven out of ten times. The only appropriate time to boo your own player is if he doesn't try hard enough, and that is a rarity.

Bichette didn't have to have the graceful reaction he did, and Mets fans are lucky that he isn't more upset by this reaction.

Mets fans need to be more patient with Bo Bichette

Patience is something that fans of New York teams lack, but New York fans are supposed to be among the smartest and most tuned-in throughout all of sports. Shouldn't they know what Bichette is dealing with?

First, Bichette signed a deal with a new team after spending his first seven big league seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays drafted him in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft, so he had really been with that organization and no other for a decade before signing his deal with the Mets.

Second, Bichette is under a ton of pressure, joining said new team in New York City, of all places, and on a massive contract. Bichette's $42 million AAV is tied for the sixth-highest in the game. Players want to live up to said contract and often press right away as a result. Bichette even admitted so after Sunday's loss.

Third, Bichette is essentially replacing Pete Alonso, the most prolific power hitter in franchise history, in their order. Is that not a pressure-builder?

Fourth, and most importantly, Bichette is playing a brand new position for the first time. Each of Bichette's 716 regular-season appearances in the field prior to this season came at shortstop. The first time he was introduced to a new position at the MLB level was last postseason, and that came at second base. Bichette is playing third base, a position he hadn't made an appearance at in a single minor league game, even. There's a good chance some of the pressure from that change is being applied to Bichette's at-bats.

All of this is to say Bichette has a lot on his shoulders. Shouldn't Mets fans realize this and wait a bit longer before booing one of their own? Is booing him during Game 3, before the team had even suffered its first loss, not insane?

Inexplicable boos to new stars are nothing new for Mets fans

Bichette saying "I thought it took too long" before getting booed probably was an attempt by him to get on the right side of his new fan base, but he was also likely making that statement with previous Mets stars in mind.

Remember when Juan Soto looked like a shell of himself for the first two months of last season after signing his mega-deal with the club? Remember when Francisco Lindor had a brutal debut season with the Mets? Heck, even Mike Piazza and Carlos Beltran, two Hall of Famers who opted to wear Mets hats on their plaques in Cooperstown, had rough beginnings to their Mets careers. Each of them was met with boos.

They eventually got it going in blue and orange - they were too good not to - but don't Mets fans think that letting them get a bit more comfortable by not booing would've brought their typical production faster? I mean, Lindor was so fed up with the boos that he, alongside Javier Baez, used a thumbs-down gesture to tell Mets fans that they don't appreciate that kind of behavior.

Mets fans should be doing whatever they can to support their players. Booing them is the opposite of that. Bichette doesn't seem to be too bothered, but that shouldn't let Mets fans off the hook for booing in the first place.

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