Fans have spent the last few days arguing over the reaction inside Citi Field to Pete Alonso’s at-bats, especially the game-tying home run he crushed in the ninth inning on Tuesday. The noise that followed made it sound like Alonso had just reached his 300th career home run with the Mets, not simply delivered one of the biggest swings of the week.
That debate has opened the door to a bigger question: what would some of the Mets’ former players make of the way the crowd responded?
It’s not hard to see why people want that perspective. Back in early August, when the Mets were honoring the 1986 team for the 40th anniversary of the organization’s last championship, a number of those former players were around Citi Field and willing to talk. Bob Ojeda and Wally Backman were especially blunt about the team’s failures, even directing criticism at David Stearns.
This time, though, the conversation isn’t about the front office. It’s about the fans.
That’s a much trickier line to cross. Players can go after executives without much pushback, but taking shots at the people in the seats is a different matter entirely.
Fans are the customers in sports, and athletes who talk down to them usually step into a mess they don’t need. The confusion shown by some Mets players, Sean Manaea among them, seemed to rub a segment of the fan base the wrong way, especially those who were loudly behind Alonso while still taking aim at Stearns.
Most retired players know better than to blame fans for anything. The usual “I’d boo myself” line doesn’t really fit here. Alonso’s milestone homer came in a strange spot - a moment that helped cost the Mets a game, even if it didn’t mean much in the standings.
A lot of former Mets have generally sided with the fans anyway, which makes sense when those same fans are the ones showing up at card shows and other public appearances. You don’t want to get on their bad side. The criticism aimed at Stearns in August was one thing; this week’s tension, with Mets fans cheering against players like Jonah Tong, felt like something else entirely.
There isn’t a rulebook for this kind of fandom. Even if there were, people would probably still follow their instincts instead of the script.
Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez are in position to comment on these kinds of topics regularly, and neither has any reason to turn on the fans. They’ve been critical of the way this team was built, and that’s part of why this debate feels unfinished. It’s one of those situations where plenty of people say they understand it, but nobody has really lived through it before.
If you had to guess, Ojeda and Backman would likely lean toward the idea that Stearns put too much stock in the numbers and not enough in the heart of the game. That kind of thinking has become a familiar way to push back against Stearns’ approach. And in a lot of ways, it lines up with how many fans feel after watching the team lose a big chunk of its base by not giving people everything they wanted.
Ojeda and Backman don’t speak for every former Met. But until one of the old voices comes out and says the fans were out of line, the question hangs there: do they see this the same way, especially after already being so vocal about how the team was put together?
In Other News...
Sean Manaea Had A Brutally Awkward Reaction To Mets Fans
Pete Alonsos return to Citi Field came with the kind of built-in drama that only baseball can provide, and the crowd played its part. On a night when he launched his 300th career home run against the Mets, the former franchise centerpiece took a curtain call and was met with cheers from the home fans, who still seemed happy to salute one of the most recognizable hitters in recent team history.
Sean Manaea, though, didnt exactly hide how he felt about the moment. The Mets starter said the reaction was crazy, making clear he respects Alonso but wasnt comfortable with how warmly the ballpark embraced the celebration. Alonso, meanwhile, kept working the room after the blast, trading memorabilia with the fans who caught the ball and even offering tickets to games in Baltimore, another reminder that his bond with Mets supporters remains complicated in all the familiar ways. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Manager Search Just Became A Huge Offseason Gamble
The Mets managerial search has already turned into one of the more revealing decisions of the offseason, and not just because the job opened earlier than anyone in Queens expected. After the team was eliminated from postseason contention and moved on from Carlos Mendoza in June, Andy Green stepped in as the interim manager and is expected to slide back into a front office role, leaving Steve Cohen and David Stearns to sort through a search that carries real weight for how the organization wants to move forward.
The list of names being considered underscores how wide open this process may be, with reports pointing to Carlos Beltran and Albert Pujols, two prominent former players who have no Major League Baseball managerial experience. Cohen will have the final say, with Stearns involved in the decision, and the choice now feels less like a routine hire than a test of how much the Mets are willing to bet on reputation, leadership traits and projection over a conventional track record. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Players Just Weighed In On Citi Fields Pete Alonso Problem
Pete Alonsos milestone 300th career home run at Citi Field brought out a reaction few around the Mets expected. Sean Manaea and Francisco Lindor both said they were surprised, and a little frustrated, to hear a portion of the crowd cheer for the former Met in a moment that should have belonged to the visiting slugger and the home ballpark he once called his own.
Andy Green acknowledged the oddity of it, but cast the response in a broader light, saying it reflected respect for players who do something special. Still, the scene fit into a series that has already felt charged in the stands, with fans sending mixed signals throughout and even breaking into chants aimed at president David Stearns, another reminder that the mood around the club can shift fast depending on who is at the plate and whats at stake. [Read more 🡒]