Josh Thole Disables Twitter Account After Receiving Criticism From ‘Ruthless’ Fans Following Slow Start

Twitter has become a useful tool for professional athletes. Not only does the social media device allow them to connect with their fans, it also allows players to further promote their brand, endorsements or whatever else they want the world to know about it.

As Josh Thole has found out, though, it also gives fans a pretty direct line of criticism.

The Mets catcher has disabled his Twitter account amid strong criticism from fans after his slow start to the season, The Star-Ledger reports.

"I thought this was supposed to be fun," he said before the Mets' game on Wednesday. "They're ruthless on there."

Thole then went on to tell reporters that his Twitter followers were getting on his case either through mentions or direct messages to share their displeasure with Thole's .239 start to the season. The catcher said that he was called names and harassed for the start and had plenty of fans offering up hitting advice.