You up for a challenge?

I’m going to tell you about four talented MLB players who came to the New York Yankees and then suddenly had down years in regards to their performance. Your job is to figure out what happened.

Joey, 27 year old outfielder, at the 2021 trade deadline the Yankees brought in an All Star slugger to round out their outfield with hopes that he could become a force in the offense. A pure power hitter, Joey consistently hit around .200 and bashed about 30 home runs in a full season. Upon his trip to the Bronx it all went down hill, his batting average dropped almost 50 points and his power seemed to vanish. Everyone was disappointed. 

Frankie, 28 year old starting pitcher, during the 2022 trade deadline the Yankees brought in the former Cy Young finalist to help provide a boost to their starting rotation heading into the postseason. The starting pitcher impressed many as he held an ERA sitting around 3.00 throughout his entire career. Unfortunately for the starter, these results did not translate into the pinstripes as in 8 starts he accumulated an awful 6.35 ERA. In his one postseason game he allowed a solo home run to give up the lead. Everyone was disappointed. 

Aaron, 30 year old outfielder, Aaron came over to the Yankees and had a great couple of years with them earning himself a 10 year extension. Unfortunately for Aaron, something changed in the 2020 season as stats took a massive hit. His batting average dropped 50 points, his power seemingly vanished, and his once impressive fielding became the complete opposite. After 3 years of awful performance he was released during the 2023 season and was later signed by the Baltimore Orioles. With the Orioles he was back to his normal self; flashing the leather in center field, raising his batting average almost 100 points, and bringing the power back with his 7 home runs. On the Orioles everyone loved him. On the Yankees, everyone was disappointed.

So what do all of these players have in common? 

Did you catch the last sentence of each paragraph? Everyone was disappointed. Everyone of the 40,000 fans at Yankee Stadium were disappointed. Everyone of the millions of internet fans were disappointed. That disappointment led to the fans turning on their players. Once loved players were bullied by their own fans. Bullied to the point that they could not perform in pinstripes.

Joey Gallo, “Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Joey Gallo’s Got to Go.” Gallo got his own chant for how much fans hated him. Throughout the 2023 season fans chanted whenever Gallo was announced letting him know how much they hate him. Gallo was a childhood Yankee fan and was overjoyed at the opportunity to play in the Bronx. Upon leaving his opinion could not have been any more different. At a press conference on the day of his departure he said that Yankee fans “…make me feel like a piece of shit…” 

Frankie Montas, When Montas was traded to the Yankees he was excited, he was currently playing for the last place Oakland Athletics and got traded to one of the biggest teams in the league. After his first couple of days in pinstripes he posted on Instagram to show his excitement for joining the new team. Fans berated him with thousands of angry comments attacking him for his performance in his first start in pinstripes. Montas later removed comments on his post because he couldn’t handle them.

Aaron Hicks, the outfielder, had a couple of great years in pinstripes but when his performance dwindled, the fans did not think twice about turning him on. Hicks deleted Instagram posts, looked sad on the field as fans booed him, and lost love for the team which he once loved. After being cut from the team in the early 2023 season, he looked sad as he returned to the stadium for the first time. One may think that fans cheered for him to let him know that they forgive him for the poor last couple of years. Nope! Fans rained down boos throughout his entire tribute video. 

Three athletes. Three star athletes. Three star athletes booed by fans. Three star athletes who were ruined by the fans’ booing. 

Baseball players love the game. They love going out on the field every day and working to get better. They love the roar of the fans as they step up to the plate.

But what happens when the fans are roaring against them?