New York Mets infielders Javier Báez and Francisco Lindor have apologized after Báez revealed Sunday that a thumbs-down celebration gesture adopted by teammates was a dig at fans who've booed the struggling club in recent weeks.
'I didn't mean to offend anybody, and if I offend anybody, we apologize,' Báez said before Tuesday's game against the visiting Miami Marlins.
'The fans obviously want to win, and they pay our salary like everybody says, but we want to win, too, and the frustration got to us.'
Players began making the thumbs-down gesture toward their dugout after base hits and other positive plays while at Dodger Stadium from August 20-22. Báez, Lindor, and outfielder Kevin Pillar were also seen using the gesture during a recent series against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field in New York.
Controversy ignited after Báez was asked about the celebration on Sunday night.
'When we don't get success, we're going to get booed,' Báez said Sunday. 'So they're going to get booed when we have success.'
Lindor and manager Luis Rojas said Tuesday they believe Báez — whose first language is Spanish but doesn't use an interpreter when speaking to media — misspoke when he said Mets players were booing the fans.
Mets fans haven't been shy about booing the club during a brutal August. After entering the month with a 3 1/2-game lead in the National League's Eastern Division, the team has gone 8-19 in August to fall seven games back of the first-place Atlanta Braves.
New York Mets infielders Javier Báez and Francisco Lindor have apologized after Báez revealed Sunday that a thumbs-down celebration gesture adopted by teammates was a dig at fans, who booed the underperforming club in recent weeks
Javy Baez apologizes for the thumbs down incident. 👎
— theScore (@theScore) August 31, 2021
(🎥: @SNYtv) pic.twitter.com/gqqEvpFv8Z
Javy Baez apologizes for the thumbs down incident. 👎
(🎥: @SNYtv) pic.twitter.com/gqqEvpFv8Z
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) and second baseman Javier Baez (23) celebrate after defeating the Washington Nationals by flashing thumbs-down gestures
Washington Nationals shortstop Luis Garcia (2) looks on as New York Mets' Francisco Lindor (12) gestures after his double scored Patrick Mazeika and Jonathan Villa during the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday
"It was wrong and I apologize to whoever I offended. It was not my intent to offend people, we can't go against the fans."
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 31, 2021
- Francisco Lindor on the thumbs down pic.twitter.com/TAMWjSf9v5
"It was wrong and I apologize to whoever I offended. It was not my intent to offend people, we can't go against the fans."
- Francisco Lindor on the thumbs down pic.twitter.com/TAMWjSf9v5
Javier Baez #23 of the New York Mets reacts after hitting a two run home run during the bottom of the fourth inning of a game against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field on August 29
The reception was equally frosty for Mets players on Tuesday at Citi Field in Queens.
Lindor was booed by a few fans when he spoke with reporters outside the dugout, and two young boys held up thumbs-down signals behind him as he spoke.
And in what may have been a joke, Marlins first baseman Jesus Aguilar gave Lindor a thumbs-down gesture, according to New York Times correspondent David Waldstein.
Later, Lindor was booed before his first at-bat and again after laying down a successful sacrifice bunt. Báez was not in the lineup for the resumption of a game postponed by rain on April 11.
The apologies follow a statement from team president Sandy Alderson, in which he disavowed the gesture and vowed that it wouldn't be tolerated. The Mets also had a team meeting on Tuesday in which players reportedly agreed to drop the gesture entirely.
Lindor stressed that the gesture was not strictly about fans.
'Thumbs-down for me means adversity, the adversity we have gone through in this whole time,' Lindor said. 'Like the negative things, we overcome it, so it's like, 'We did it! We went over it!'
'However, it was wrong, and I apologize to whoever I offended. It was not my intent to offend people.'
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen said Monday that his protesting players who gave the crowd thumbs down over the weekend 'hit the third rail by messing with fans'
The 28-year-old Báez was acquired from the Chicago Cubs on July 30 and has hit .210 with four homers and a .709 OPS in 17 games since. Mets fans booed him and others throughout August, when the team has gone 8-19 to fall out of playoff position after leading the NL East for nearly three months.
A four-time All-Star, Lindor was acquired from Cleveland over the offseason in the first major move for the team since billionaire Steve Cohen purchased the franchise. Lindor signed a $341 million, 10-year deal to remain in New York, but he has been jeered often during a season in which he is hitting .224 with 11 homers and a .686 OPS.
He was hopeful the gesture wouldn't spoil his relationship with the fan base he is committed to through 2031.
'I hope this doesn't stick around because it wasn't meant to offend anybody, to disrespect nobody,' he said. 'This is just a time of trying to pick each other up. We're going through a rough time, and it was a gesture to pick each other up.'
Mets president Sandy Alderson has since rebuked Baez. 'These comments, and any gestures by him or other players with a similar intent, are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated,' Alderson said in a statement. 'Booing is every fan's right. ... The Mets will not tolerate any player gesture that is unprofessional in its meaning or is directed in a negative way toward our fans. I will be meeting with our players and staff to convey this message directly'
Cohen did not hesitate to reprimand Mets players.
'These are young guys and sometimes we forget they are on a public stage and can make mistakes,' Cohen told the New York Post. 'They hit the third rail, though, by messing with fans. And it is unacceptable. Hopefully, this is a teaching moment and they will learn from this.'
Cohen had previously been very player friendly in his first season, but criticized the club on August 18 during a prolonged slump among Mets hitters.
'It's hard to understand how professional hitters can be this unproductive,' Cohen tweeted. 'The best teams have a more disciplined approach. The slugging and OPS numbers don't lie.'
Cohen was referencing a pair of statistics in his tweet: slugging percentage, which measures the number of bases a hitter gets per at-bat, and OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage), which is a composite statistic aimed at grading a batter's overall impact.
Entering Wednesday, Mets hitters ranked 26th out of 30 MLB teams with a .380 slugging percentage and 24th with a .693 OPS
