MLB: Curtain Call?

[chet]

Yesterday Carlos Delgado hit 2 home runs thus breaking out of a bad start to his season. All year the TV commentators have been going on and on about him being an elite power hitter who keeps declining every year. Add on to that the fact that the NY fans have been booing the underachieving Mets pitchers and hitters at every home game.

Carlos didn't come out for the curtain call that the now-happy Mets fans requested after the second homer. He didn't say it in post game interviews but the media thinks he has a chip on his shoulder about the booing.

What do you think- do the fans deserve a curtain call when requested? Is that part of the price of thier ticket- that the players should acknowledge the curtain calls?

[Derek S]

In cities like NYC, Philly, etc. players will be on a love-hate rollercoaster at times. Players ought to deal with it.

Fans put the moolah in players wallets, so I don't think it should be difficult for the players just to step out and doff their cap in acknowledgment of the fans acknowledgment.

Is it required as part of the ticket? No. Is it the class thing to do? Yes.

[stephwills]

Ditto to Derek S. MLB players make too money to be copping attitudes with the fans. The players get to live their lives not only watching professional baseball games every day, they get to play the game as well. But they only get to do it if the fans keep showing up. Granted, fans can be jerks. But dealing with jerks is commonplace regardless of your job.

[morroben]

While I agree with what everyone else has said, I'd have a hard time acknowledging the fans if they'd been booing me all season. I can see where Delgado is coming from, but that doesn't make it right.

[chet]

Mike Fransesca showed a clip of a few years ago when the fans were booing Carlos Beltran when he had a similar bad start.

When he finally broke out of it his teammate made him go out and tip his hat.
That was that and he's lived happily ever after.

The Yankee fans were booing A-Rod a couple of years ago and the NY Giants fans booed Eli Manning last fall.

I think it comes with the territory and you just have to accept it. What's so hard about coming up and tipping your hat?

[chet]

Mets-fans relationship on the rocks despite win
Monday, April 28, 2008
NEW YORK -- They handed out giant foam index fingers at Shea Stadium yesterday, presenting Mets fans with an alternative to the finger they've been waving here all month.

Then they won the game, which was even better.

On balance, this was a good day for the tattered relationship between the Mets and their fans. But because it was played in the cauldron of coiled anger and hatred that Shea has become, it had its ups and downs.

Most of them centered on Carlos Delgado. They booed when his name was announced as a member of the starting lineup. They cheered after his first home run. They asked for a curtain call after his second, and he refused. Some of them booed then, but most seemed to understand.

There's a lot of work to do here. The Mets and their fans are going to spend this season in couples counseling, and both sides are going to have to do their part. The team can help by grinding out workmanlike wins like the ones they got the past two days -- against the Braves, with clutch hits, solid defense and good late-inning relief work. The fans could help by occasionally letting the team know, with the odd "Let's Go Mets" chant or even an unrequited demand for a curtain call, that they still do want to see them do well.

In order for it to work, both sides have to want it to work. And days like yesterday can help.

"I appreciate that the fans offered, and that they understand that he's going out there fighting," David Wright said of the Delgado curtain-call situation. "But this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately town. He hit a couple of home runs, and he's back in their good graces."

For now.

If Delgado pops up to the third baseman or rolls over into the shift tonight with the bases loaded, the boos are sure to start again. He knows it, understands it as part of the game and actually isn't that bothered by it. He said his refusal to go out for the curtain call had nothing to do with his feelings about the fans, but rather his belief that the moment wasn't grand enough to deserve one.

"We appreciate the support of the fans, but we're here to play a game," Delgado said. "They pay me to go out and hit the ball and drive in runs. That being said, I'm not going to lie. It's a lot better than the boos."
So yes, these guys do notice the booing, and they don't love it. Many of them find it perplexing. After all, these fans are supposedly showing up to cheer for this team -- to urge it on to victory. The idea that they would turn instantly, angrily negative at the first hiccup is a strange one.

"I think for some people, it's a joke -- their way of saying, 'I was here at the game and I affected it in some way,'" closer Billy Wagner said. "I understand it's their team, they pay their money to watch us, and when we don't play well, they're frustrated. But to some extent, it's overdone."

To some extent, certainly. Booing the home team at Shea has become the chic thing to do. You show up, Delgado makes an out, Aaron Heilman gives up a home run, you boo. You don't even think about whether it makes sense.

But to shrug the whole thing off as the behavior of irrational fans is foolish. This is still the same basic team that blew a layup for the pennant in the 2006 NLCS. The same basic team that coughed up a seven-game lead with 17 to play last September. Mets fans have reason to feel as if they've been wronged. Their wounds are real, and fresh, and when things happen (Delgado slump, Reyes slump, Heilman gopher balls...) to remind them of what caused those wounds, they lash out.

"We all have our critics, and you're not going to quiet them," Wagner said. "Any time something goes wrong, they're going to magnify it. But that's the nature of the game. You'd like to get some support. You'd like to have somebody say, 'He's going to turn it around. He's got 434 career home runs.' But that's not the way it goes, and we understand that."

The way out of this, for the Mets, is to win. They must win the way they won in 2006 -- consistently and impressively over a long enough stretch that the fans begin once again to look on them as a good team, a championship-caliber team. They have the opportunity to do this, with the pitching staffs of the Braves and Phillies facing far more problems than theirs, but they must seize it. Slowly, surely, the Mets are capable of repairing this relationship. And if they put in the necessary work on their end, they're likely to find the fans far more willing to lighten up.

It's all about rebuilding trust. There was trust here once, and love, and all kinds of good feeling, and there can be again -- as soon as this summer or fall.

It's just going to take a whole lot of work.



Dan Graziano may be reached at dgraziano@starledger.com.

[stevieboy]

He's a baseball player not a performing seal.

Respect him as a human being, he might just respect you back.

[woodman]

seems to me that sulking when you're applauded because you've been booed in the past would set you up for more boos, less applause in the future. no one appreciates a lout.

[smitty54017]

I don't think sports is any different than life in general. Treat others as you would want to be treated. Booing people who are having a bad streak is rude in my book. If he's going out and trying his best every day, that's all that should be expected.

When we have a bad streak, we like to have people get behind us. We should do the same for others.

Reminds me of A.J. Pierzynski a few years back. He was being hounded by fans for his autograph by a group of kids who continuously yelled at him demand he sign for them. He began walking away, when I politely asked "Mr. Pierzynski, may I please have your autograph?". He turned, smiled, and walked back and signed my ball, thanked me for being polite, and walked away. Just because they're being paid millions doesn't give us the right to be polite. A.J. gets the wrap for being a jerk, but I was nice to him and he was nice to me, so he's cool in my book.

Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.

[Guitar_Ninja]

Eh, Ted Williams refused to tip his hat to the fans throughout his entire career due to the whole booing/applauding ying/yang, even in his final at-bat. Amazing what hitting 521 home runs and batting .344 over a career will do for your eternal reputation.

And the fans don't pay players' salaries, the owners do using profits from ticket sales, merchandising, TV and radio deals, etc. Personally when I go into the local convenience store to buy a bag of chips I don't generally think, "I'm paying the clerk's salary with this dollar". More, "I'm buying me this bag of chips".

Unfortunately, or actually in my opinion fortunately those with superior abilities in life tend to get the farthest ahead, and getting further ahead tends to come with a bigger paycheck. YMMV.

[chet]

I disagree: fans do in fact pay the players salaries. If the fans don't show up for the games or watch them on TV then the owners won't be able to afford to sign them.

Without the fans then the players aren't working there. They shouldn't forget that.

Delgado knew what NY was like before he came here. He should respect the game and give the fans a little respect too.

The Boo-birds weren't the ones cheering.

PS: You are paying the clerks salary along with anyone who goes in the store and buys something. It's the clerk's job to give you courteous service.
If noone buys anything at the store then it's gonna close.

[emu!]

He should have done it for the fans...or at least to impress Mindy McCready.

[allen st. john]

Eh, Ted Williams refused to tip his hat to the fans throughout his entire career due to the whole booing/applauding ying/yang, even in his final at-bat. Amazing what hitting 521 home runs and batting .344 over a career will do for your eternal reputation.

When Teddy Ballgame refused to take a curtain call after hitting a homer on his last at bat, John Updike wrote. "Gods do not answer letters."

I'm not sure that Delgado is a deity yet, but I think he does fans a backhanded service by behaving this way. The metamessage is "I'm no hero, just a petulant rich guy with good bat speed."

When I was 10, I wrote to Willie Mays asking for an autograph. No reply.

What I learned is that Willie Mays does amazing things on the baseball field, but as a human being, he's decidedly flawed (as are most athletes.) Twas a valuable lesson.


best
Allen

[Brent Hutto]

I saw a weekday afternoon game at the old stadium in Philidelphia (the Vet??) back in the 80's. The Phils lost 3-2 or some such and the great Mike Schmidt had hit a homer in his first or second at bat, basically the only guy who hit at all that day. He had also saved a run with a great diving stop in the later innings.

So he comes up with men on base in like the eighth inning with two out. Grounds out to second. There were only a couple thousand people in the stands but at least half of them booed him like he was a bum for grounding out. What have you done for us lately, man?

Gotta love Philly sports fans. What a town!

[chet]

Originally Posted by allen st. john

When Teddy Ballgame refused to take a curtain call after hitting a homer on his last at bat, John Updike wrote. "Gods do not answer letters."

I'm not sure that Delgado is a deity yet, but I think he does fans a backhanded service by behaving this way. The metamessage is "I'm no hero, just a petulant rich guy with good bat speed."

When I was 10, I wrote to Willie Mays asking for an autograph. No reply.

What I learned is that Willie Mays does amazing things on the baseball field, but as a human being, he's decidedly flawed (as are most athletes.) Twas a valuable lesson.


best
Allen

Yep, it wouldn't have killed him to step up and tip his hat. No big deal so why make it one?

[chet]

Originally Posted by stevieboy

He's a baseball player not a performing seal.

Respect him as a human being, he might just respect you back.

On the other hand he's being paid millions of dollars for playing a kid's game for the amusement of the paying fans.

[smitty54017]

Originally Posted by emu!

He should have done it for the fans...or at least to impress Mindy McCready.

[teleman65]

Carlos Delgado was class all the way as a Blue Jay. Maybe other things are going on in his life. I can't imagine him becoming a jerk.

[garytelecastor]

Do we know that he wasn't involved in something else while they were calling him out? Were there pictures of him in the dugout?

[chet]

I watched it on the Mets baseball network. He knew what was going on. There's no excuse for it. He's just being hardheaded.