Jerry Seinfeld loves a lot of things, but perhaps nothing more than his New York Mets. So much so that, when he joined Steve Somers for a little Labor Day Schmooze on Monday, he had to rail against those booing the team amidst the whole “thumbs down” controversy.
I really love Javy Baez, he’s a guy I’ve always wanted on the team because he reminds me of Tony Montana in his postgame interviews, he’s like a sexy villain – and I agree with him: don’t boo your home team!” Seinfeld admonished. “You’re lucky you have a team that you can love, and if they don’t perform well, that is what it is.”
That’s not to say there isn’t a time and a place to make your displeasure known.
“There are a couple situations I can say where I’d count a boo. If a guy doesn’t run out a pop up or a ground ball he thinks is going to be an out…that’s lack of effort, and that I would boo,” Jerry quipped. “Underperforming is not worth boos. That’s absolutely wrong. I am against it. I know people pay a lot of money for tickets and it’s a big deal to go to a game – this is our team, support the team.”
The Schmoozer disagreed, saying that if people have the right to cheer, they should also have the right to express their displeasure – so Jerry brought out a “real world” example.
“It’s ill-mannered, it’s uncivil, and it’s unsupportive. I don’t give a pass on people not being civil,” Seinfeld replied. “You can say you have the right to honk if a light turns green and someone in front of you doesn’t go – you’re right, but it’s horrible manners.”
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Seinfeld gets it: it's tough to have another let down.
“We’re all frustrated and disappointed with various teams, but they’re booing the frustrations they have in their own life,” Jerry posited. “They come to the ballpark and expect the team to win, to take their minds off that, where perhaps they have had something bothering them. They’re booing themselves, if you ask me.”
Cue the meme of Jerry Seinfeld the TV character eating popcorn on his couch and saying “that’s a shame,” but Jerry does take the ups and downs, calling Monday’s loss to the Nationals “such a gut punch that I had to go for a long drive to clear my head.”
“When you throw a ball on the first pitch if a save opportunity, the next pitch has to be over the plate. You just can’t go 2-0,” Seinfeld said, referencing Edwin Diaz’s blown save. “I’ve become a big Diaz fan, he’s a quality closer and really always has been, and all closers are going to blow games, but today was tough. To me it’s the second pitch. Let the guy hit it – you must challenge over the plate.”
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Schmooze admitted that he thought Monday’s loss was a big dent, and that he lost faith when the Mets lost 11 of 13 in that stretch against the NL West – but Jerry reminded Steve of his own words: they’re playing meaningful September baseball, which is the way to get to “serious October baseball.”
“They have had a great year, and look at the surge they’re making now, it’s fantastic. They are giving us a lot of entertainment right now,” Jerry said. “You always ask for meaningful September baseball and we’re getting it! There’s a lot of energy right now on this team and we’re having a ball.”
Now, with Labor Day in the rear view, the Mets are four back in the NL East and 4.5 in the Wild Card chase. A long way back from where they were over much of the season in first place, but that’s what Seinfeld loves about baseball.
“This is the fun of the sport, this sport tests you like no other. You have to weather the ups and downs,” he said. “Baseball is a daily struggle, so much like life is. That’s what I love about it. The entire complexion of this month would be different if we had deGrom out there, but there’s lessons in all this stuff!”
And, yes, Mets fans: Jerry is still optimistic that the Mets will make up one of those deficits and get to that “serious October baseball.”
“Yes, the Mets will make it. They will continue this crazy run, and it will be a nail-biting thrilling conclusion,” Seinfeld predicted. “And the Yankees will also have one, too. I don’t really follow the AL, because I don’t consider it real baseball, but I wish them well because they’re a New York team – even if I still haven’t gotten over WFAN no longer carrying the Mets and now carrying the Yankees – but isn’t it fascinating how they’ve been mirror opposites all season, where when one goes up, one goes down?”
Maybe for outside observers, Jerry, but it can be a grind for fans, although Seinfeld did bring a nugget of truth to light by noting that “only one team doesn’t have a bad end to the season.”
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And whenever the Mets’ season ends, Steve Cohen has some decisions to make. He’s a “fun guy to watch,” Jerry said, but if he was asked by Cohen what changes he would make?
“People come up to me and try to make me laugh and I try and smile at dumb things – but these people are professionals, and I never put myself in a “why did they do that?” mind,” Seinfeld said. “So I won’t say trade this guy, or get rid of that guy – my thing is I love a baseball culture that stresses fundamental play. Emphasis on fundamentals and execution would be what I would do.”
No matter what happens, though, Jerry is always looking on the bright side:
“Win or lose, controversy or not, I’m so grateful to have a team I love that I can watch every night!”
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