Mike Francesa: Yankees must 'be tougher' to deal with boos, New York fans

Sports radio legend Mike Francesa has blasted members of the New York Yankees upset over what they encountered during home playoff games. 

"They booed Joe DiMaggio. They booed Mickey Mantle," Francesa explained about Yankees fans during his BetRivers podcast, per James Kratch of Elite Sports NY. "The Yankee fan wants to go to the World Series. He hasn’t been to the World Series in a long time (2009). He pays a lot of money to go to these games. He makes a big effort to fight traffic and fight everything and expenses to go to the game. And he’s disappointed." 

Francesa was responding to a report from earlier this week that said some New York players "were surprised by the tone of fan and media reaction" that included All-Star slugger Aaron Judge hearing boos during postseason contests held at Yankee Stadium. That story suggested Judge, who is set to hit free agency after he rejected a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension offer before Opening Day, may sign elsewhere due to the "toxicity" that hovered over the Yankees this fall.  

"They have showered Judge with love forever," Francesa continued during his comments. "But when you don’t perform in the big spot in this town, you’re going to hear it. When they booed the (Derek) Jeter teams at one time, I remember Jeter saying, 'We deserved it.' That should be the answer. 'We deserved it,' not, 'What are you doing booing us?' You’ve got to be tougher than that." 

Francesa reminded Yankees players and other New York professional athletes what it means to compete in the country's largest sports market. 

"You don’t perform, you get booed," he said. "You perform, you get a ticker tape parade. It’s how it works." 

It was reported Thursday that "there appears to be some real concern within the Yankees' ranks about their chances to keep Judge" after the World Series. Whether or not Judge hitting the open market could ultimately make the Bronx Bombers "tougher" is unknown.