The Etiquette of Booing: Part II

In 2008, one of the earliest post I wrote for this blog was on the etiquette of booing. In that post, the situation was specific to booing Trevor Hoffman. The basic point was that Trevor Hoffman had earned our respect and a blown save here or there was not worth the fans of San Diego booing him.


Today, this argument was renewed. After yesterday's 7-0 loss to Atlanta yesterday, Petco Park was filled with boo's. To the point that Orlando Hudson responded, reportedly saying, "That's why they're fans, they couldn't cut it in high school or college baseball & you don't boo the home team."

Let's take this in a couple steps.

1) Orlando Hudson is not Trevor Hoffman. It's a rare player that earns the respect and does not deserve to be booed, absent serious misconduct. Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman are probably the only two players in Padres history that are on that level. Orlando Hudson has been a Padres for only a few months. And let's be frank, the first regular season month of Hudson's career in San Diego has been less than stellar for the team.

2) There's a debate amongst fans whether fans should boo the home team. A debate that I'm sure they snicker at in Philadelphia and New York. But I like not being a fan of Philadelphia and New York, in part because we don't turn on our team at every bad moment. Does that mean a teams fan base is NEVER allowed to boo? I beg to differ. Philadelphia and New York boo too much but that's not to say there isn't a time and a place. That time and place is...

- 7 shutouts in 25 games in 2011 (12 shutouts in all of 2010)
- .208 team BA, good for last in ML. 213 SO, most in MLB
- And of course, the oft discussed BA/RISP of .172

3) There is a difference in booing a player or team you don't like (see: Cleveland with Lebron) and fans booing out of frustration. It is my belief that what happened Wednesday is the latter. And Orlando Hudson's reaction was an extension of that frustration.

I don't believe for a second that the player's aren't doing everything they can to start winning games. Probably trying too hard ultimately. I don't for a second think that these players aren't playing 100% and aren't more frustrated than any fans are. So I get Hudson's venting. What I don't agree with is Hudson's opinion that fans are not allowed to boo simply because they cannot play at a MLB level.

I'm not a booer unless I don't like the player or team. I don't boo my own teams no matter how frustrated I get. But I don't have a problem with fans doing it if they need to vent. Within reason. And through the first 25 games, we are well within that reason.

The fact of the matter is, I've been a bigger fan of the Padres longer than Orland Hudson has been. Or Brad Hawpe, or frankly any member of the Padres this year. So yes, I may not be talented enough to play at the MLB level. But I'm emotionally invested enough that if I'm frustrated by the teams play, I can let out a groan or a sigh or even, yes, a boo.

Everybody's frustrated, from the players to the GM to the fans. Brighter days are ahead, this I know. And no disrespect was meant toward any player individually or personally. And hey, I like Orlando Hudson. I give him a pass on this. He's a stand up guy, great in the community and a fun guy in the clubhouse by all accounts.

So let's chalk all this up to frustration. And take that frustration out on Los Angeles.

The Etiquette of Booing

This post is really a response to a question posed at Gaslampball.com. When is it ok to boo Trevor Hoffman? Let me set up the scenario for you.

Last night, bottom of the 8th in a 1-1 game, the Padres put runners on 1st and 2nd with no one out. The Padres, after failing to bunt the runners over (thus requiring only a fly ball to score), hit themselves out of the inning and failed to score. This left the game in a 1-1 tie heading to the 9th.
NOTE: As someone asked on the post-game show last night, why didn't Heath Bell stay in the game for the 9th? The pitchers spot in the batting order came around with runners on. Simple as that.

Now, Trevor's struggles in tie games, at least as compared to save situations. But there he was, and for 2 batters it looked like a stroke of genius as Trevor struck out the first two batters he saw.

Then, back-to-back homeruns. 3-1, game over.

What followed that inning was perhaps more shocking and more worthy of debate. The San Diego fans booed Trevor Hoffman as he left the mound. Which leads to our question, is it ok to boo Trevor Hoffman?

Many will say yes and they have a point I suppose. He is a highly paid athlete, he is under-performing (although his save total is still high enough to be among the National League's best), and an overall frustration in the 2008 season was being taken out on Trevor in that moment. Dare I say, those who support booing Trevor Hoffman are dead wrong.

Bill Simmons of ESPN.com said of die hard fans that when you are a die hard, the team is like your family. When a member of the family screws up, the family circles the wagons. So should we around Trevor Hoffman. What is most frustrating is that those who would boo were the same fans who cheered at Trevor's record-breaking save or save #500 or even the first two strikeouts last night.

But more than any of this, Trevor has earned our respect. We know he's not as effective, he knows, everyone knows it. That does not warrant booing. Can anyone ever imagine a scenario in which Tony Gwynn would be booed for striking out with the bases loaded or for making a game-ending error? Of course not and nor should Trevor be booed. He is arguably the second most prominent Padre in history, will be a Hall of Famer and will one day have his own statute at the Park-at-the-Park. I'm not asking for blind idol worship. Just don't boo the man. In the end, if you are a fan, you have a vested interest in Trevor and the team doing better. That goal can't be reached by booing.

Trevor has never beat his wife, used performance-enhancers, said disparaging remarks about the city of San Diego or his teammates, has never acted as if he is better than everyone. What he has done is stay loyal to this team despite more lucrative offers, established himself as a champion for charity causes in San Diego, and set an all-time record as a Padre. This is not the kind of players that deserve to be booed nor is San Diego the type of place that should be associated with booing their legends. Save that for New York and Boston.

Of course, all of this could have been avoided if the Padres had professional hitters who knew how to bunt.