New York Mets infielder Javier Báez confirmed today that the “thumbs down” sign they’ve been flashing to the crowd after big hits is to retaliate for fans booing them when they do something bad.
“When we don’t get success we’re going to get booed, so they are going to get booed when we have success,” he said:
Javier Baez on the thumbs down sign Mets players have been flashing to the crowd after big hits: "To let [the fans] know when we don't get success we're going to get booed, so they are going to get booed when we have success."
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) August 29, 2021
And “we’re going to do the same thing to let them know how it feels”:
Javy Báez said the Mets' new thumbs down celebration is a response to fans booing the team.
"We're not machines, we're going to struggle. … It just feels bad when I strikeout and I get booed. … We're going to do the same thing to let them know how it feels," he said. pic.twitter.com/CYkHVpE2KH
— Deesha (@DeeshaThosar) August 29, 2021
This is unreal:
Javier Baez said Mets' thumbs-down celebration after big hits is a message to fans, who have booed him & others.
"In my case, they (the fans) gotta be better," Baez said. "It’s just how I feel. I love the fans I like playing for the fans, but we can’t have our fans against us."
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) August 29, 2021
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And we can’t wait for the backfire on this one. It will be spectacular:
More Javier Baez: "It 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’re successful, we’re going to do the same thing, to let them know how it feels … They’re going to put more pressure on the team."
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) August 29, 2021
Luis Rojas, manager of the team, says he didn’t know this was going on:
Luis Rojas said he didn't realize Mets players were booing fans back with their thumbs-down celebration, which they have been doing for at least a week.
"This is the first of heard of the meaning of this," he said.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) August 29, 2021
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