It was jeers over cheers from ballpark goers for ex-Mets hurler Max Scherzer in his return to Citi Field on Monday.
The ballpark’s production staff put together a video montage as a thanks to Scherzer for his time in Queens, which clearly wasn’t looked at fondly by fans based on what was broadcast by SNY.
The pregame tribute video went on with little reaction initially, but opinions on Scherzer’s run with New York became obvious when his face hit the big screen.
He waved to the fans and appeared to let out a giggle as the boos grew louder for the former Met.
The Scherzer era began with high hopes and the boos likely stemmed from his flops in big moments.
The Mets signed him to a record-breaking contract before the 2022 season, averaging $43.3 million per season. While he was limited to just 23 starts due to injuries, he went 11-5 with a career-best 2.29 ERA.
Scherzer came up small in Atlanta in the series that cost the team the division, and he was then bombed in his lone playoff start last year against the Padres in the wild card series.
The righty yielded seven earned runs in just 4 ⅔ innings, surrendering four home runs.
After a rough start to the 2023 campaign, Scherzer, 39, was rounding into form when the team decided to hold a fire sale before the trade deadline in an attempt to restock the farm system amid a lost season which started with high hopes and a higher payroll.
With that in mind, the Mets traded Scherzer just before the deadline to the Rangers in exchange for top prospect Luisangel Acuna.
Scherzer has looked like his old self again since his trade to the Rangers, likely even more to the annoyance of Mets fans.
But the three-time Cy Young Award winner should be able to avoid more grief from the Mets faithful since he’s not scheduled to return to the mound until Friday against the Minnesota Twins.
Scherzer has thrown 30 ⅔ innings spanning five with a 2.64 ERA and an elite 0.91 WHIP, the fifth-best in baseball during his five-start stretch with the team.
Texas is trying to regain control of the AL West, with the division currently ruled by the hard-charging Mariners, who own a one-game lead over the Rangers and Astros after winning 12 of their last 13 games.