3 former Yankees players never embraced by NY Mets fans

3) Robinson Cano

Robinson Cano was another New York Yankee who was on the fast track to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In nine season in the Bronx, Cano would hit .309 and accumulate over 1,600 base hits and over 200 home runs.

Cano would often get chastised because he made things look so easy that it appeared he wasn’t hustling. He was smooth and things really did look effortless. But something was amiss and the Yankees allowed him to get away as a free agent to the Seattle Mariners.

Cano would continue his offensive production with the Mariners with no signs of slowing down for four seasons. During the 5th season, 2018, Cano would end up receiving his first suspension from MLB. The Mariners took the opportunity to dump him on the Mets after the season, slipping in the trade along with Edwin Diaz.

For 2019, Cano would play in only 107 games and get 390 at bats in what would be the worst season of his career, hitting a mere .256 with 13 HR and 39 RBI. He would rebound in the COVID-shortened 2020 season to hit .316 with 10 HR and 30 RBI in just 49 games, giving some inkling that he would be true to form as a productive member of the Mets lineup.

But, true to form, he was suspended again and was forced to sit out the entire 2021 season. At 39 years old, the Mets felt compelled to get him in the lineup when he returned for the 2022 season. But after 33 games and 100 at bats, Cano was only able to muster 15 base hits.

With Jeff McNeil entrenched at second base and winning a batting title, and the Mets in the midst of a successful season enroute to 101 wins, it was easy for Mets fans to forget about Cano.

The fact that Edwin Diaz took a while to succeed with the Mets, and the fact that the Mets gave up top prospect Jarrod Kelenic in the trade, and the fact that the Mets had taken on so much in salary for Cano, made it tough for Mets fans to grow fond of him. Add to that the rest of the debacle that would forever tarnish the career of Robinson Cano, it’s understandable why Mets fans have always made him feel unwanted.