Jesse Winker and Mets fans will get along just fine, don't worry
Mets' Jesse Winker returns to the dugout after striking out swinging against Atlanta during the eighth inning of an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Sunday, July 28, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
This was before the bottom of the fourth inning on Sunday at Citi Field. David Peterson had just imploded and allowed the first four runs of the game in the Mets’ 9-2 loss to Atlanta.
That was the moment the club had predetermined to welcome Jesse Winker to Flushing with a scoreboard montage of his home runs. It ended with a shot of Winker in the Mets’ dugout.
The fans cheered, and did it again when Winker was announced as a pinch hitter in the eighth with the Mets trailing 9-0.
“Wave hello to Jesse!” the scoreboard cleverly urged those who remained among the disappointing and disappointed crowd of 26,916.
Winker struck out. It was that kind of day.
A few months ago, Winker was booed at Citi Field when he played for the Nationals. Every time he came up.
It stems from a seemingly good-natured feud Winker had with Mets fans dating to 2019, when he was with the Reds and waved goodbye to fans in leftfield after making a game-ending sliding catch.
It wasn’t Chase Utley-level loathing, but Winker seemed to revel in his anti-hero status.
That all changed in the wee hours on Sunday morning when the Mets acquired the lefthanded-hitting outfielder from Washington for a prospect.
Winker made it to Citi Field in time for the game, which turned out to be the Mets’ second straight defeat. The pair of losses is a reminder that, for all the success they’ve had lately, no one is going to hand the Mets a playoff spot, and David Stearns had better keep adding before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
One of the fans who clapped for Winker in the fourth was 25-year-old George Callas of Hastings, who was watching the game in the rightfield upper deck in a Kodai Senga City Connect jersey.
“Everyone loves an anti-villain,” Callas said. “Punisher. Venom. All those guys. That’s him for us now. It was fun to boo him a while ago. Now it’s going to be fun to cheer him.”
Punisher and Venom are Marvel characters. But you already knew that.
It was a bit surprising that manager Carlos Mendoza chose to start Ben Gamel in left instead of Winker, especially because Winker grabbed an early flight from St. Louis to make it to the ballpark in time.
Also, who besides Mendoza even remembered Gamel was on the roster?
Winker is an upgrade over Gamel and DJ Stewart, the latter of whom the Mets sent to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday.
Another fan, 26-year-old Thomas White of North Bellmore, said he’s happy Winker is a Met.
White attended the game in the unhealthy sugary beverage corner with about 95 members of the North Bellmore Fire Department. All of them were decked out in Mets jerseys with “NBFD” on the back, even those who aren’t Mets fans (shhh, we won’t tell anyone).
White, the second assistant chief, did seem to have a little trouble letting go of Winker’s pinch-hit home run on July 4 that beat the Mets, 1-0, in Washington.
That guy again!
And on that day.
“I’m a little upset that he’s the only person who scored a run on the Fourth of July and beat us on America’s day,” White said. “I think he’s going to be a good addition for the Mets. He’s going to help out very well.” Washington Nationals' Jesse Winker, center, celebrates his home run with Luis Garcia Jr., left, and Harold Ramírez, right, during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Thursday, July 4, 2024, in Washington. Credit: AP/Nick Wass
The helping out will start soon. Winker should get plenty of burn in the three-game series against the Twins that begins on Monday as Minnesota is scheduled to start three righthanders.
While some Mets fans might regard Winker as a lowercase Chipper Jones, the truth is he is only a .224 career hitter at Citi Field. Overall against the Mets, Winker is a .283 hitter with three home runs, 18 RBIs and an .895 OPS, which is pretty good.
If he had done that without the waving and without being an irritant, it’s possible Sunday’s trade would have barely caused a ripple among the fan base.
Most people seemed to agree the feud was all in good fun, especially Winker, who is from Buffalo.
“I think we squashed our little thing a couple years ago,” Winker told reporters before the game. “It was fun. For my first couple of full seasons, I was maybe a little on the immature side. I had some fun. But obviously it’s a passionate fan base and I’m excited to play hard for them.”
And from what we witnessed in the ballpark on Sunday, they’re excited, too. Bygones will always be bygones when it comes to winning baseball games.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
