Laura Albanese: Bo Bichette struggling early? Give the new guy a break!
Mets third baseman Bo Bichette is unable to throw out the St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker at first base in the second inning of a game Monday in St. Louis. Credit: AP/Joe Puetz
ST. LOUIS, Mo.
The swing went right through strike three and the boos followed, a disgusted acknowledgment of a limp at-bat against a weaker opponent. The sentiment among fans at Citi Field was clear: The Mets paid that much for this?
The date was May 28, 2025, and Juan Soto, who had gone 0-for-6 in his previous two games against a ghastly White Sox team, had struck out against a reliever who came into that day with a 5.16 ERA. It was part of what turned out to be an 0-for-4 day.
By now, you know how that turned out. Despite the Mets’ various failures last year, Soto bounced back from his “slow” start to have one of his best seasons in a Hall of Fame-track career. He came in third in MVP voting, was just two stolen bases shy of becoming just the seventh member of the 40-40 club, led the National League in homers and on-base percentage, and led all of baseball in walks.
Yes, it took time, and from a human perspective, that makes sense. You can have generational talent, but there’s intense pressure that comes with a $765 million contract, and from joining a new team. Even if it’s just the one across town.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Bo Bichette is not Juan Soto, but he’s undoubtedly a talented player who’s being compensated like one. Playing in a new city for the first time in his career, Bichette, 28, signed a three-year, $126 million contract to come to Flushing. His $40 million signing bonus alone is more than what he made in his three-year deal with the Blue Jays.
And by Sunday, that new city was booing him. This one came after a seventh-inning strikeout against the Pirates, his MLB-leading eighth of the season. This, from a guy who struck out just 14.5% of the time last year, which was in the 86th percentile in baseball.
To which we say, let’s learn from the lessons of yesteryear. And maybe, just maybe, Bichette should be cut a little slack.
There were “definitely” takeaways from the Soto situation, manager Carlos Mendoza said before the Mets 4-2 win over the Cardinals Monday at Busch Stadium.
The biggest one? “Having conversations with and understanding that you’re not the first one and you’re not going to be the last one,” Mendoza said. “It happens to the best players in the game and not only here with the Mets in New York or in big market teams. Everything is new for them — the contract, new team, new fan base. There’s an adjustment period . . . He’s a really good player and it’s three games here.”
Just three games. Remember that. And frankly, there’s evidence Bichette can handle the guff. We saw a possible thawing Monday. Though he had a miscue at third, he went 1-for-5 with two RBIs, but also hit balls 106.8 mph (a single) and 99.1 mph (a lineout with an expected batting average of .780). He also didn’t strike out.
“I think baseball is so mental,” Bichette said. “I still need to get better and do a better job, but I felt more like myself today.”
After the boos Sunday, Bichette acknowledged that mental aspect. “I didn’t anticipate it,” he said then. “But I definitely felt like I wanted to have a moment, not only for my teammates but for the fans and everything.”
How long has he felt that way?
“From the day I signed,” he said.
And there it is. We’re so conditioned to think about baseball contracts like they’re made of Monopoly money. These players are millionaires plenty of times over, and current salaries mean fans don’t blink twice at numbers that look like they should be Powerball payouts. But athletes are people and people have egos. They have expectations and they feel pressure. Especially when it comes to doing something nearly as impossible as appearing “worth” the eye-watering money they’re making.
That means there’s going to be an acclimation period as Bichette settles into a new life, and as he deals with the psychological aspect game. He’s also adjusting to a new position, and no matter what anyone says, a shift like that takes up mental capital. It’s capital that, in a past life, would be expended on offense.
There is this, though: Early on, Bichette had some highly competitive at-bats, and there’s no universe where a player known for striking out very little, and for hitting well with runners in scoring position, immediately stops doing both for no reason.
Mendoza, for his part, wasn’t surprised the Bichette looked better Monday.
“I thought he was under control,” Mendoza said. “He’s not trying to do too much . . . Even the ball he lined to rightfield [in the sixth], that was a pretty good at bat. That’s good to see. When he’s doing that, those are some good signs.”
Signs may not be enough, but maybe give it time. And if you’re feeling impatient, just remember: They booed Soto once, too.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
