FanNation

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 last 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 said he didn’t give a curtain call because that’s not his style, and that 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.

The talk in the New York media area then turned to whether Delgado was telling the truth or if he was just sticking it to the boo-birds. I believe Delgado.

What New York fans don’t realize is that Delgado – and most players for that matter – do not play the game for the fans. They play for themselves and their teammates. The 25 guys on the roster are together for eight continuous months from February through October. They go on the road together, play together, eat together and room together. These guys spend more time with each other each day than they do their wives and girlfriends. And in the case of Roger Clemens – more time than his wife and girlfriends!

Players don’t play for 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 they deserve a curtain call after an innocuous 7th inning solo home run – they are mistaken. If fans think they have the right to boo anybody they want at any time because they pay 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 badly. How can New York fans boo Derek Jeter after all he has done for the team? People said it was okay 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 it’s 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.

In St. Louis new third baseman Troy Glaus hit his first home run in his 26th game with the Cardinals. But, the hometown fans didn’t 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’s 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 who 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 don’t perform to 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?

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, but it is short sighted and counterproductive. The added pressure fans are putting on the players to come through on every at bat during every pitch doesn’t 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.