We need to hear how these former NY Mets players feel about the Pete Alonso cheering

Fans have been eating each other alive on social media over how many of those in attendance for the last two New York Mets games behaved during each Pete Alonso at-bat, in particular his game-tying home run in the 9th on Tuesday. You’d have thought Alonso hit number 300 for the Mets the way the fans ignited with noise.

Whichever side you land on, or even if you’re more in the middle, there is one group of people we’d all probably like to hear from.

Back in early August, the Mets were celebrating the 1986 team. As a part of the 40th anniversary of the organization's last championship, many of those beloved former Mets were around Citi Field and open to discussing how they felt about the team. Bob Ojeda and Wally Backman were highly critical of the team’s failures, even going as far as to point the finger directly at David Stearns.

What do these angry former Mets players think about the fans’ behavior this week?

It’s one thing to blame the decision maker in the front office. Public figures like them are fair game. Criticizing the fans, the customers in sports, is something totally different. Athletes talking down to the fans is a topic they should avoid as much as possible. Confusion by Mets players, Sean Manaea being one of the more prominent ones, irritated a select few from the masses who invested their time into cheering for Alonso while being highly critical of Stearns.

Most athletes, even the retired ones who can hide from the public eye, know better than to blame the fans for anything. The token “I’d boo myself” response doesn’t apply here in any way. It’s a strange situation for everyone because Alonso just had to hit his milestone home run in a moment that helped cost the Mets a game albeit a meaningless one in the standings.

Many former Mets have tended to side with the fans because, after all, those are the ones who show up to the card shows and other public events. You can’t get on their bad side. When critical of Stearns back in August, it wasn’t a Mets vs. Orioles debate. That’s what brewed this week with Mets fans cheering against players like Jonah Tong.

There is no book on fandom to follow. Even if one was written, the heart and head will tell everyone to do something different.

Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez get to speak up on the topic regularly, but haven’t nor should they shake a fist at the fans. Critical of the way this team was built, this is one of those debates we won’t hear enough true feelings about. 

On one hand, everyone seems to completely “get it” and on the other it’s a confusing situation because we have never experienced it before.

Just a guess, players like Ojeda and Backman would probably say something along the lines about how Stearns cared too much about the numbers and not the heart of the game. That seems to be a common prevailing thought to fight back against any Stearns logic. True on many levels, the Mets lost a large part of the fan base because they chose not to give the fans everything we wanted.

Ojeda and Backman don't speak for every ex-player. However, until someone from the past comes out and says the fans were foolish for this behavior, we're left wondering if they agree when they've already been outspoken about the way the team was built.

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