Francisco Lindor and Javier Baez apologized to New York Mets fans on Tuesday, saying they were wrong for giving thumbs-down gestures after getting booed in recent games.
“It does not look good on our part,” Lindor said.
It reached a boiling point within the organization when Baez made the gesture to the crowd after getting a hit during Sunday’s 9-4 victory at Citi Field.
“#Fans We just need to stay together! We want to win too!” Baez posted to Twitter on Tuesday. “El Mago gonna be El Mago! #LGM”
#Fans We just need to stay together! We want to win too! El Mago gonna be El Mago! #LGM
— Javier Báez (@javy23baez) August 31, 2021
Baez is hitting .210/.258/.452 with three homers and five RBIs in 17 games since he was acquired from the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline. Since then, the Mets have dropped from first place to third in the National League East.
Lindor is hitting .224 with 11 home runs, 38 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in his first season with the Mets since signing a 10-year, $341 million contract with the team last offseason.
“I have sucked at times, and I haven’t done my part when it comes to the offensive side,” Lindor told reporters Tuesday. “But I don’t think that we have a bunch of guys just complaining all the time about the media, the fans, the city — no, no, no.
“We’re playing the game; we’re trying to win. We’re trying to do whatever it takes to win and represent the organization the right way.”
Kevin Pillar has also displayed the thumbs-down gesture, but said after Sunday’s game on Twitter not to “look too much into this” and that “we are having fun.”
Mets president Sandy Alderson on Sunday said the gestures “are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated” and “booing is every fan’s right.”
On Tuesday, Mets owner Steve Cohen said on social media that he was happy that the players apologized.
“Glad to hear our players apologizing to the fans,” he posted on Twitter. “Let’s get behind our players today and go out and win 2 today.”
The Mets were completing a delayed game against the Miami Marlins from April 11 prior to Tuesday’s regularly scheduled game.