Paul DeJong's comeback trail brings out the unflattering side of baseball fans
Baseball fans aren't always nice.
Baseball fans can be real assholes, myself included.
We second guess everything, hate 98% of lineups, and generally like lighting dumpster fires on social media over a sports team and its employees every summer. It’s called St. Louis Cardinals baseball and their supposedly best (the right word is crazy) fans don’t exactly think of humility when delivering words into the internet.
Case in point: Paul DeJong over the last two or three years. As his star faded and struggles became a norm, the shortstop found himself going from everyday starter at the MLB level to a two-month stint in Memphis this summer. He handled it like a boss, did his homework, and came back to acquire his name label of “Daddy Yankee” over the weekend.
But if the hilarious Sarah Anne’s (follow her as well) tweet represents the fun side of fans on social media, there is another dark legion of Cardinal Nation and just about every other fan base that blasts players, also known as human beings, across the net if they fail or don’t do well at their jobs.
It comes with the territory, we know, but there’s a certain point where mental health safeguards show themselves and put people in their place… right? Not entirely. Imagine someone constantly spouting off on Twitter about how bad you are at your job, and doing it every day. The effort isn’t seen. A joke can be had and that’s all.
A tweet from the delightful Kyle Reis over at Birds on the Black-go follow, unfollow, and then worship him in that order-depicted the unsavory side of baseball fans.
It’s both hard and not that hard to understand why fans do this. An attachment is developed, becomes toxic, and then turns to hatred because players aren’t robots like we’d like the umpires to call a game like. It’s just brutal to see, and Reis would know. He gifs just about every night, keeping Twitter abreast of the minor league activity from the Cardinals. DeJong’s time down there showed a lot of improvement and most likely restless nights trying to regain what was lost.
He’s back and it’s not all going to come back overnight, or at all, but he’s contributing and doing better as evidenced by the opposite field and pulled lasers coming off his bat. The strikeouts are more digestible if he’s slapping extra base hits all over the yard.
The goal next time is to not be so damn mean to players. Grading their performance is a given. After all, you’re going to the games and sweating/spending your heart out to the tune of #46,000+ this past week. Let it fly. Just be civil. Or be kind. Or don’t be a dick.
Your choice. Remember, it’s a game played by adults that we take an obsession to. Keep it together.
Follow me @STLSportsDesk on Twitter. Or look up Dan Boofa. Stay healthy.
(Photo Credit: Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports.)