In the eighth inning on Tuesday night at Citi FIeld, 18 games into Francisco Lindor's 11-year (and possibly more) tenure with the Mets, the patience of a swath of fans ran out.
After Lindor's ground out, boos started to rain down on him as he walked back to the dugout after finishing a 1-for-4 night.
The boos weren't from a majority of those in attendance, but were very loud in the ballpark compared to the rest of the noise made by the fans during the loss, and were audible on TV.
After the game, Mets manager Luis Rojas cited the "passion" of the Mets' fan base when talking about the booing fans who targeted Lindor.
But I don't believe booing your new superstar player after 18(!) games shows how passionate you are. I think it's a sign of short-sightedness and foolishness. Especially when that player is clearly giving it his all in every facet both on the field and off.
Is it understandable to be frustrated that Lindor is hitting .212/.321/.273 with just one home run and one double in 73 plate appearances this season? Sure.
Is it your right, as a paying customer, to boo any player you'd like? Yep.
But it doesn't make booing Lindor any less perplexing, or any less pointless.
Lindor is a big boy. He can handle it. However, it has long been my contention that booing anything but lack of effort is just foolish. And booing Lindor this early as he's getting acclimated to a new league and new city is especially puzzling.
With Lindor, Mets fans have a player who has not only continued to excel on defense while struggling offensively, but who has continued to be a leader on and off the field.
Digging through Mets Twitter on Tuesday night, though, it was actually hilarious to see the amount of people who were writing Lindor off after -- let's say it again -- 18(!) games.
It should also be pointed out that Lindor is not on an island when it comes to his offensive struggles.
Until recently, Michael Conforto was mired in one of the worst slumps if his career, Jeff McNeil is still hitting under .200, and Dominic Smith hasn't looked like himself. Meanwhile, the Mets' offense is averaging roughly 3.2 runs per game so far this season -- likely due in part to the many stops and starts they've had due to seven postponements.
Does the above make Lindor and the rest of the struggling offense free from criticism? No. But the booing is pointless and counterproductive. It's also something that's not new in Flushing.
Shortly after the Mets traded for Mike Piazza in May of 1998, many fans turned on him, booing him at Shea Stadium in the dog days that season.
What made the booing of Piazza so ridiculous was that he performed immediately after being acquired, hitting .336/.403/.536 from his first game as a Met on May 23 through July 31.
After that, he hit .361/.433/.689. Yes, his slugging percentage in August and September that season was .689(!!!!!!). And fans still booed him.
The most absurd part of the Piazza booing, though, was that it was all taking place when he was set to become a free agent after the season and his future in Queens was very much up in the air. Just incredible foolishness on the part of the fans.
Then there was Carlos Beltran, arguably the greatest two-way player in the history of the franchise.
He was booed in 2005 as he struggled a bit in his first season with the Mets, although he played through broken bones in his face late in the season. That didn't matter much to the fans who booed.
Then in 2006, he was booed again, to the point where he almost refused to come out for a curtain call after homering in early-April at Shea Stadium.
I was there for that game, sitting in the Upper Deck between third base in left field, watching as Beltran had to be coaxed out of the dugout by his teammates.
First Piazza, then Beltran, now Lindor.
Things turned out just fine for Piazza and Beltran and -- unless Lindor has forgotten how to hit the ball hard in his age-27 season -- they'll turn out just fine for him, too.
But that doesn't make booing him right now any less foolish.
