FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Every time he came to the plate to hit, Carlos Delgado heard the fans booing. As was mostly the case in that time up, Delgado would make an out and the chorus of boos would grow louder. He was even booed on a swing and a miss! The New York fans can be ruthless at times.

So it was not a surprise that Delgado did not acknowledge the cheering fans after he hit the second of his two homers on Sunday. Those fickle Met fans seemed to forget all about Delgado's prior foibles and threw out the olive branch with a standing ovation and wanted their curtain call.

It was not available.

Delgado stated he did not give a curtain call because that is not his style and he respects the game too much to upstage the pitcher a second time. He also stated that he only has given two curtain calls - one for his 400th home run and for the game where he belted four homers. That game was on September 25, 2003 and made Delgado the most recent addition to this treasured club.

All the talk here in the New York media area turned to whether Delgado was telling the truth about his reasons why he did not come out for the curtain call or whether he was sticking it to the boo-birds. I believe Delgado in that he respects the game too much to show up the pitcher.

What New York fans don't realize is that Delgado DOES NOT play the game for the fans, but he play's for themselves and their teammates. So do most of the other players in baseball. The 25 guys who comprise the roster are together for 8 continuous months from February through October. They go on the road together, play together, eat together and room together, and these guys spend more time with each other each day than they do their wives and girlfriends. In the case of Roger Clemens - more time than his wife and girlfriends!

They are playing the game for the 25 guys and not the drunk guy in section 623 of the upper deck, nor the hedge fund trader who paid $1,000 for his ticket in the front row behind home plate. If you asked any player off the record who he plays for - very few will say the fans.

Most of the guys who still play baseball, whether it is in the majors or an over-40 Sunday morning wood bat league are so competitive they play to win and to win for themselves and their teammates. If the Mets and Braves played in an empty Shea Stadium, all the players would compete hard to beat the other team, because they want to win.

So if the New York Met fans believe that they deserve a curtain call after an innocuous 7^th inning solo home run - they are mistaken. If fans think they have the right to boo anybody they want at any time because the fan pays good money to see the game (and to buy that plastic bottle of beer), they are correct. But, the fans deserve nothing but hard work and hustle and they should only boo when a player is not hustling and does not give 100%. It is counterproductive to boo Delgado when he is not playing up to his past success or because he makes $16 million this season.

And it is not just the Met fans, but Yankee fans have been just as bad in the past. Remember when Derek Jeter was on that 0 for 32 streak? He was booed pretty bad. How can New York fans boo Derek Jeter after all he has done for the team? People have stated that it OK because Yankee fans booed Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. So what? Does booing those Yankee legends make it right?

And the booing is not about the money. If it is then why is Phil Hughes booed? Why was Ian Kennedy booed? They make the league minimum. Still good money, but not multi millions. Aaron Heilman is booed because he gives up a big hit and Johan Santana is booed during his first start at Shea Stadium when a home run is hit.

Why?  Because New York fans are the worst in sports. They will change their thoughts on a player in a single at bat.

Attention New York fans: Not every hitter can come through in every situation and not every pitcher will win every one of his starts, whether they are a veteran like Johan Santana or a rookie like Phil Hughes.

Booing by the hometown New York fans only aggravates the situation and does nothing but cast a black cloud over the home team, causing increased pressure between players to perform. There is already enough pressure to win without fearing the booing after every out is made. Alex Rodriguez was booed most of the last two seasons due to his lack of post season production, but most Yankee fans complained when he opted out of his contract after his MVP season, then cheered him again when he resigned.

In St. Louis new third baseman Troy Glaus hit his first home run in his 26^th game with the Cardinals. But, the hometown fans did not boo Glaus or ridicule him on sports radio. The Cardinals fans - the best in baseball - rooted for their team and their players and cheered when Glaus finally connected. That is one reason why players love playing in St. Louis.    

And that is another negative from all the booing going on at Shea.

Free agents are no longer going to come to New York.

The Mets have very few prospects that are near ready to help the major league club and Omar (if he still has his job at the end of this season) will have to hit the free agent market once again to fill positions for next year.

But, with the way the Mets fans react to players who do not perform better than expectations, do you really think Mark Teixeira or C.C. Sabathia will want to come play for the Mets? Even in the shiny, new Citi Field? Forget it.

More players are taking less money to resign and stay with their own teams (Jake Peavy, Roy Oswalt) or go elsewhere and to play in better environments. Roy Oswalt even has a no-trade clause for both New York teams!

New York fans can continue to boo to show their displeasure, but it is short sighted and counterproductive to having a good team perform to their potential. The added pressure fans are putting on the players to come through on every at bat, during every pitch does not help a team during that game or the current season. And it will hurt the teams when trying to improve the team for the future.

Good luck trying to get Teixeira in Mets pinstripes next year.