To Boo or Not To Boo....That SHOULDN'T Be The Question!

Last year, Jonathan and I knew that Carlos Beltran was injured before it was made public, as to watch him, you could see he wasn't the same player he had been the year before. After his collision with Mike Cameron, he rushed to come back earlier then he should have, risking potential permanent disfigurement. Playing through injuries, putting personal concerns to the wayside, are major qualities of a player who is not selfish; furthermore, they are qualities of a leader, someone who wants to prove that he is not only worthy of the huge contract he received and all the gifts that have come his way, but that he wants to give something back to the fans who are paying his salary and coming out to see him make something of their beloved team. Regardless of his stats at the time, we found it impossible to boo someone trying that hard to place his positive mark on the team, especially in light of some of the truly terrible characters we have had before his arrival. I understand that as a paying fan, it is my right to boo or cheer anyone that I'd like. However, we find it hard to want to boo a player who is trying hard, especially someone like Beltran, who we also have so much invested in. When the Mets acquired George Foster, we all expected a player capable of hitting 40 - 50 homers, not someone not interested in being with our ballclub. In all of the time I have been a Mets fan, which now is more than 37 years, there are only a handful of Mets that I have ever booed and more than likely no one would have an argument with: Bobby Bonilla, Mo Vaughn, Doug "Risk" Sisk, Armando Benitez, George Foster & Vince Coleman (see photos below). Each of these players seemed to take from us while either not caring about their performance, or, in the case of Sisk, giving us such heartburn, we couldn't help but boo. Now, we wonder, what all of those fans who booed Beltran earlier are thinking as he hits dinger after dinger, plays great defense and is the quiet heart and soul of the club, along with Pedro?! Give him time, and some health, and he will be, we believe, even greater then the star he was with KC. Beltran was sensitive to the booing, simply because he knew that he was giving it his all, game after game, and played through injury yet again. We need to reward that type of performance, his type of performance, with patience and cheers. I know that's not always the New York way, but NY still has the best fans in the world, INCLUDING St. Louis, so remember the example of Beltran before you boo next time...