Bo Bichette is prepared for some hostility from the city of brotherly love.
The Mets’ new third baseman, who spurned the Phillies this offseason to join their National League East rivals, knows the Philadelphia faithful won’t take kindly to his decision — and he’s fine with it.
“If I know Philly fans, probably not the best,” Bichette said Wednesday during an appearance on “Foul Territory” about the type of response he expects to receive during games at Citizens Bank Park.
“I’ve never been booed by an opposing crowd like that. … I look forward to it. In my opinion, that’s actually pretty cool to experience, so I look forward to it.”
Aside from reuniting with superstar slugger Kyle Schwarber, Bichette would have been the Phillies’ biggest splash of the offseason.
A mid-January meeting between Bichette and the Phillies reportedly went “very well,” with the club offering a reported seven-year, $200 deal.
“I can’t say that we ever thought it was done,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters about the Bichette negotiations. “We thought we were very close to having a deal done. We thought it was going to happen, but it wasn’t done. There’s a difference between the two.”
After missing out on superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker, the Mets pivoted to Bichette, inking the longtime Blue Jays shortstop to a three-year, $126 million pact with a higher average annual value and multiple opt-outs.
The Phillies’ front office was reportedly “livid” about the deal, with Dombrowski calling it a “gut punch” while a local radio host mocked the Mets as “losers” for swooping in and landing Bichette.
But New York ultimately made the splash, landing last season’s AL batting title runner-up with plans to shift him to third base — a position he has never played professionally.
Any intradivision backlash has taken a backseat this spring as Bichette begins adjusting to the hot corner — a transition he called a “challenge.”
Through four Grapefruit League games, Bichette has two hits in nine at-bats — and has even flashed some leather defensively.
Bichette admitted during his “Foul Territory” interview that he isn’t fully comfortable at his new position yet, but expects that to come with time.
“It’s a little weird,” Bichette said of adjusting to third base. “Practice is good, and I’m trying to get to the point where I’m just letting my athleticism take over.
“At the end of the day, you’ve just got to catch the ball and throw to first, but when you play a different position, you start thinking of different ways to make it, things like that, so those are the kind of things I’m working through.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
