Robinson Cano was booed mercilessly by the Kansas City fans during Monday night's Home Run Derby at Kauffman Stadium. So what?
Should Cano have have been booed? No, probably not.
Judging by the numbers and pure home run talent on the roster, no Royals player was really worthy of participating in the event anyway — even the underrated Billy Butler. Plus, Cano is by all accounts a good guy who was there in the hopes of putting on a show for those who showed up to see some blasts. We should at least appreciate the fact that he chose to participate during a time when securing the game's elite for the event is often hard to do.
But are the Kansas City fans suddenly bad fans because they booed Cano? No, absolutely not.
The way the Twitterverse exploded during the event insists otherwise, however. Judging by the backlash and criticism, during which the fans were labeled "scumbags," "classless" and everything in between, one would have thought they did something terribly egregious. They did not.
Since when is uttering the phrase "boo" some crime worthy of capital punishment? The right to root against someone or something is as fundamental as the right to root for someone or something. No, believe it or not, that isn't something out of Plato's The Republic, but it might as well be etched somewhere in baseball circles.
Cano took the booing in stride, saying he actually expected the criticism, yet there were plenty of other social media gurus who couldn't help but lash out at the Kauffman crowd.
"I was criticized even before I got here," Cano said of the excessive booing. "When you play for the Yankees, everywhere you go you get booed."
He's right. Getting booed and ending up on the receiving end of some hatred has become the cost of donning pinstripes in the minds of many baseball fans. When you throw in the fact that Cano initially said he hoped to pick a hometown guy for his squad, then did not, it probably should have been more surprising if there weren't at least a few moans and groans in K.C.
No matter what the response, though, it's just hard to comprehend why some baseball fans all of a sudden have this moral high ground, and view booing as some unsavory act of classlessness. Athletes have been getting booed for years, people. And they've been booed for much less.
Just ask Santa Claus, because even he couldn't escape the wrath of Philadelphians. But apparently showering jolly old Kris Kringle in boos doesn't strike the chord that mocking Robinson Cano does.
To be fair, not everyone is upset with Cano getting booed. In addition to Cano himself, Athletics hurler Brandon McCarthy isn't too concerned, tweeting that he loved the fans' passion and would love to see more "stuff like that," not less.
And why not? In an age when fair-weather fans and pink hats are seen as the lowest of the low, shouldn't we be embracing those who are truly passionate enough to care and knowledgeable enough to be aware? The K.C. fans wanted one of their guys in the competition, and — as the AL's captain — Cano failed to grant their wish. In other words, he put coal in their stockings and ended up receiving the Philadelphia St. Nick treatment.
So to those crying about the fans at Monday's Home Run Derby, get off your high horse and stop being so sensitive. This is sports. It's not the end of the world, and neither is booing a player from an opposing team during a festive night.
If you disagree, go ahead and shower me in boos. I can handle it.
