Booing a Player Three Games Into a Season Is Deeply Unserious

Bo Bichette is hearing it from Mets fans already.

Bo Bichette is off to a rough start with the Mets. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Mets fans showered Bo Bichette with boos after he struck out with two runners in scoring position during the seventh inning of Sunday's loss to the Pirates. Bichette understands why. In fact, he cleverly said that he was surprised they waited this long to voice their displeasure with his disastrous start with the franchise.

Bichette, who signed a three-year, $126 million contract with New York in the offseason, was dreadful in the Mets' opening weekend series against Pittsburgh. The second-most expensive free agent of his class went 1-for-14 in three contests with a single RBI. He's out to an early lead for the most strikeouts in the National League with eight. His advanced stats are even worse.

There's not getting off on the right foot and then there's completely falling down. Bichette, who is also learning a new position at third base, has done the latter.

It's New York so the boo birds are to be expected. Playing in the media capital of the world comes with intense scrutiny and Bichette knew exactly what he was signing up for when he put pen to paper. But there are, believe it or not, some silver linings in the dark cloud of a .071 batting average.

Most importantly, things have to get better. Bichette has hit .290 or better in six of his seven MLB seasons. He's streaky, meaning the lows can look particularly low while the highs are incredible. And there are, by our calculations, 159 regular season games remaining for the 2-1 Mets.

Then there's the argument that the whole idea of booing someone 14 at-bats into their time with a club is so ludicrous that it takes away any of the sting. Sure, no one likes to be the object of scorn and frustration but when it comes after such a minuscule sample size, it is much easier to dismiss the validity.

This isn't to defend Bichette or make excuses. It's simply pointing out there it is not yet April, the Mets have a .667 winning percentage, and he's going to contribute to scores of New York victories this season. If misery loves company, he can explore some other box scores and discover that Shohei Ohtani is hitting .125 out of the gates and Cal Raleigh has limped to a .133 start while fanning in 10 of his 15 at-bats. Those two aren't getting booed and they won't get booed even if the struggles continue for another week.

Mets fans have reason to complain. Yet lodging a formal complaint, putting down in writing and in the newspaper that you're mad because Bichette was bad in three games feels like overkill.

Cooler heads and hotter bats will prevail.

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