Francisco Lindor is less than a month into his 10-year contract with the Mets, and he's already hearing boos from the stands.
The Mets' new superstar shortstop has opened the season on a cold stretch, and by the eighth inning of Tuesday night's 2-1 loss to the Red Sox, Lindor was hearing it from the Citi Field crowd, which is still waiting to see its $341 million man show what made him worthy of that record-breaking contract.
"Our fanbase is very passionate," Mets manager Luis Rojas said after the game. "They support our team. We feel that. My thought of it is how our fanbase is passionate with our team. They want everyone to perform consistently on a daily basis."
Lindor went 1-for-4 in Tuesday's loss and didn't strike out, but his season average sits at just .212 with a .593 OPS, and he has gone deep just once. For Mets fans waiting to see their new face of the franchise break out, that's just not enough.
But for Rojas, that kind of reaction less than a month into the season is hardly a reason for concern.
"It's so early in the season," Rojas said. "The good thing is our guys show up every day and they prepare their best and want to give the fans what they want/ they want to win."
Mets fans, and most other fanbases across the league, don't hesistate to rain down boos on their superstars when they're struggling. David Wright, one of the most beloved players in Mets history, heard them as he struggled in 2016 due to back problems, and Lindor is the latest victim.
"It's something I think we've seen in the past over the years when guys are going through a little bit of a struggle…it's our fanbase being as passionate as they are, wanting us to perform better and to win games," Rojas said. "I'm sure it's not the last time we'll hear that from our fans. It's because of that. We know they're here and they're supporting us."
Rojas didn't want to chalk up Lindor's early-season slump as a result of his attempts to settle into his new surroundings, especially when Lindor batted .310 with a .931 OPS in spring training.
"I don't want to attribute this to anything like that yet," Rojas said. "It's so early. I feel that, just watching him in camp how good we swung the bat in camp, I just feel that he's one swing away or one at-bat away…he's got good body control, a good feel for what he's doing…his swing is just a little off on some of those pitches that are middle to middle away, almost like he's trying to pull."
Eighteen games is certainly a small sample size, and Lindor is quietly on a four game hitting streak, so Rojas expects those boos to turn to cheers sooner than later.
"I don't think it's going to be too much of a task for him to overcome," Rojas said. "We just played game 18 of 162. I think he's just going to come one day where it clicks and he's going to get hot. I don't want to jump the gun and say anything is affecting him other than he's just going through a bad stretch right now."
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