One of the voices of the Mets has addressed the elephant in the room at Citi Field.
During Tuesday afternoon’s opening game of a twin bill with the Marlins, SNY’s Gary Cohen — speaking with analysts Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling — had some candid thoughts over the Mets stars, including Javy Baez and Francisco Lindor, giving their fans the thumbs-down.
Cohen started the conversation in the second inning by saying how the culture current players have grown up with is very different from previous eras, noting that coaches and managers hardly yell now and are more positive all around.
Partly because of this, Cohen said, the current situation potentially “leaves players less prepared for the negativity that exists in society, and negativity that gets expressed now with more vitriol than ever on social media.”
He added that it can be difficult for players to discern the difference between the online browbeating with more “measured” criticism from the media and level-headed fans.
The Mets’ play-by-play announcer also made the point of saying that now that players are more distanced from the world than ever — especially in a world where Zoom interviews dominate the pandemic landscape — there becomes more of an “us against the world,” mentality.
Baez made a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth inning and was met with a round off boos and thumbs-down gestures from the crowd as he walked to the plate. However, he was hit by a pitch and then was received sarcastic cheers and some thumbs-ups from fans.
He later scored the winning run to seal a come-from-behind Mets victory.