Do you boo players?

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

I didn't expect this to happen when I posted the comment, but Paul Lukas of Uniwatch used something I said about booing athletes for a thoughtful Medium post on the subject.



The original post that drew the comment was about things we do while attending ballgames. I just noted that I haven't booed a ballplayer in years, since I wrote a series of stories about a minor league player -- and eventual Met. I spent time with him on and off the field, got to learn about and meet his family, and saw firsthand how hard players work and how difficult their lives can be, especially those on the fringes. I spent one game in a photo bin that was basically an extension of the dugout, and learned more about baseball in that one game than in a lifetime of fandom. Once you've spent time on the other side of the curtain, you just see things differently. I've had the same experience after working in politics. It's just far more than what you see and the people aren't who or what you think they are.



Anyway, Paul was very kind to reach out and talk to me some more about where I was coming from. It's a very thoughtful post.



https://paullukas.bulletin.com/some-thoughts-about-booing-at-the-ballpark?section=commentshttps://paullukas.bulletin.com/some-thoughts-about-booing-at-the-ballpark?section=comments

[Willets Point]

I only boo players rarely if they do something egregiously unsporting, or are a rival who has a history of being a jerk (see Utley, Chase), but never for anything related to their performance as player.

[kcmets]

Not clicking on Paul Lukas bulletins because I don't care what he opines.



I generally don't boo, but have been known to fart in the general direction of players.

[MFS62]

I think I only boo-ed one player, and that was Bob Gibson for beaning Tommie Agee in his first Spring Training with the Mets.

I did it for a while until I realized Gibson pitched everyone that way.



Later

[Frayed Knot]

If I do it'll be for dumbpth and/or poor effort.

I rarely if ever treat poor results as if someone kind of personal insult.

[Edgy MD]

I save my boos for poorly edited copy.



Also, if I hear a mailed-in homily at church, I totally let the pastor have it.

[Gwreck]

Boos are for people who do bad things, like a Marcell Ozuna or an Aroldis Chapman. It's not for poor performance on the field. That's better met with silence.



Booing your own team's players is dumb, unless they fall into the first category.



Booing the opposing team's best players? Eh. Who cares. I don't think twice about Bryce Harper or Freddie Freeman. Unless, again, they fall into category 1 above.

[Fman99]

I boo the other team's best players because fuck those guys. Let them console themselves with hot wives and big piles of cash.

[soupcan]

Frayed Knot wrote: If I do it'll be for dumbpth and/or poor effort. I rarely if ever treat poor results as if someone kind of personal insult.

=Fman99 post_id=106129 time=1662122557 user_id=86]
I boo the other team's best players because fuck those guys. Let them console themselves with hot wives and big piles of cash.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I don't boo players but only because I'm too goddamn lazy to bother and exert myself. But it's a part of the game and sort of an assumed risk that the players consent to and should expect, if I may torture up a legal analogy. The idea that players shouldn't be booed because of the effort they put in to get to the majors in the first place doesn't resonate with me. They're also making millions and they're mostly lucky anyways. Because it's not all skill and effort. You have to have the right genetics for starters and that's like at least 75% of it -- and it's all luck. Like I've said before in some other thread, some guy inherits a body like a Greek God and he has world class Olympian class speed and can be one of the best cornerbacks in NFL history and an MLB player with an all-star ceiling. I'm talking about you, Prime Time. Somebody else inherits a shlubby accountant's body (not that there's anything wrong with being an accountant) and secretly suspects by the time he's in the third grade that he's never gonna be a pro baseball player or even a player on his Junior High School softball team. And if that isn't luck, then I don't know what is.



Anyways, booing players is a manifest part of the culture of baseball and a reflection of the fans passion for the teams they root for