Mets Bo Bichette feels wrath from spurned Phillies fanbase

PHILADELPHIA — Bo Bichette braced for a rude reception Thursday from a fanbase that almost became his this season.“If you know anything about Philly, nothing will surprise me,” Bichette said before the Mets beat the Phillies 6-4 at Citizens Bank Park.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.

Bichette was booed each time he walked to the plate in his 0-for-5 performance, which snapped his streak of multihit games at six.Last January the Mets, after learning that free agent Kyle Tucker had chosen the Dodgers, pivoted toward Bichette — who was deep into negotiations with the Phillies.Bichette took the Mets offer of $126 million over three years — with opt-outs after 2026 and ’27 — preventing the Phillies from adding another key bat.Earlier in the offseason, the defending NL East champions had re-signed Kyle Schwarber to a five-year contract worth $150 million.“We were definitely talking, but there were a few things that were unfinished, so I wouldn’t say necessarily that we were at the finish line,” Bichette said.The Phillies’ reported offer for Bichette was $200 million over seven years.

Dave Dombrowski, the team’s president of baseball operations, described losing Bichette as a “gut punch.” Bichette, who helped the Blue Jays reach the World Series last season, isn’t looking back.“[The Phillies] are a great team that I was interested in being part of, but I wouldn’t say I think too much of what could have been,” Bichette said.Bichette reiterated factors that attracted him when he selected the Mets.“Ownership is doing their best to get a team of talent on the field to win and the team has a ton of talent,” Bichette said.“Playing in New York, the market here, all that was important to me — we have the opportunity to win, with talent, in a place that fans care about the team.”The Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson following a sl...