The New York Mets are enduring a harsh stretch of the season and fans are getting frustrated.
Taking on the division rival Atlanta Braves on Monday after the team had lost eight of its last nine games, the Mets faithful unleashed some of those frustrations on Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. as he powered a win for his team and another loss for New York.
“The win was thanks in no small part to Acuna, who scorched a leadoff home run to center field in the third inning and appeared to get in the heads of the Mets’ players and fans,” David O’Brien wrote for The Athletic. “When Acuna did various celebrations that are part of his routine home run trot, boos rained down from the crowd of 38,593. And when he struck out an inning later, one man in a Juan Soto Mets jersey stood and flipped both middle fingers at Acuna while screaming profanities.”
Those hostilities might be enough to elicit a frustrated response from some players. But Acuna, who is slashing .396/.500/.713 with nine homers in 28 games since returning from injury this season, seems to thrive on the negative reactions.
“It feels good,” Acuna said of the hostile reaction, per O’Brien. “It feels like whenever I kind of hear those boos or anything … it’s hard to describe it, it’s almost like I get more confidence, you know?”
Even as Acuna propels some Braves wins and the Mets endure a harsh slump, the National League East division remains a two-team race. The Philadelphia Phillies hold a slight lead over the Mets, who are up more than 10 games on the third-place Braves.
But if Acuna can continue to thrive on support from his home fans and hate from those of the team’s rivals, things could get much more competitive soon.
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