![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/frankinline3-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNEW YORK \u2014 For a brief moment, Frank Fleming was silent.<\/p>\n
The Mets were leading by three runs, after their offense put up five in the first three innings. Their ace was on the mound. By the standards of this godforsaken season, things were going about as well as they possibly could.<\/p>\n
That was until shortstop Bo Bichette, or, as Fleming sometimes calls him, Bo Bis\u2014t, was unable to make a difficult play on a soft grounder in the hole. It was a single, elongating the inning, as the Mets\u2019 lead withered away.<\/p>\n
Then it was clear that silence was merely a pause, a moment for Fleming to gather and focus his fury, before finally unleashing it.<\/p>\n
\u201c$42 million, Bo,\u201d he shrieked. It was audible to everyone in the section, everyone from fanatics like him to families with children, but likely not to the shortstop himself. \u201cYou\u2019re a bum. You\u2019re the worst Mets signing of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fleming is famous for his rants. Some criticize them for being purposefully mean-spirited. Others say they\u2019re contrived to generate clicks. This anger, in that moment, seemed natural. It was coming out whether or not there was a camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cB-U-M,\u201d he continued yelling at Bichette.<\/p>\n
\u201cS-H-U-T U-P,\u201d an exasperated Mets fan yelled back at Fleming.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you think this is good,\u201d Fleming retorted, the pace of his voice becoming faster and louder. \u201cHe stinks. $42 million. He\u2019s robbing us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in the fourth inning,\u201d she said. \u201cRelax.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here at Citi Field, \u201cFrank the Tank\u201d Fleming was in his element. To observe one of the sport\u2019s most polarizing and notorious fans on his home turf is to learn about what drives him in a way that goes well beyond the one-off, 40-second clips that inevitably creep into the algorithms of so many baseball fans.<\/p>\n
At the stadium, Fleming may seem to be simply another loud, occasionally obnoxious fan, but his rants and bellows resonate far beyond the mezzanine; Fleming is one of the most marketable faces of Barstool Sports, the massively popular and often controversial sports content machine.<\/p>\n
The site\u2019s founder, Dave Portnoy, discovered Fleming in a viral local news clip in 2017. In the years since, Barstool has featured Fleming as a media star across all its platforms, building his brand through podcasts, YouTube shows, live-streaming and short social media hits.<\/p>\n
Fleming has amassed nearly 1 million social media followers across his various platforms, including X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook. He\u2019s developed friendships with high profile celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger. From the walk to the subway to departing Citi Field after the three-hour plus game, Fleming was stopped for photos more than 100 times.<\/p>\n
Some love him for his candor, some hate him for his rancor. Many are inspired by his massive weight loss \u2014 dropping from 550 pounds to his current 280 through daily walks and diet, posted through monthly weigh-ins. Others believe his temperament crosses the line of a polite society.<\/p>\n
In many ways, he is the originator of this genre of content \u2014 inspiring legions of copycats screaming into their phones, turning anger into clicks. What started as Fleming Periscoping his tirades more than a decade ago has taken on a life of its own.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Fleming is a regular presence at Mets games, and a vocal one. (Sam Blum)<\/p>\n
Fleming says he does not care about being beloved; that is residue from the first 40 years of his life, when he says he got used to surviving without much love or support. His controversial antics generate skepticism and frustration<\/a>, both at a man who many believe is over the top, and at a company, Barstool, that critics say<\/a> exploits someone who, by his own estimation, has an undiagnosed form of autism.<\/p>\n Still, for perhaps the first time in his life, Fleming feels like he has a purpose, whether you like it or not.<\/p>\n \u201cAnybody who says that \u2026 \u2018Oh, Barstool is exploiting the ranting,\u2019 A. He was ranting before,\u201d Portnoy said. \u201cAnd I mean it, there is no clearer example of somebody who\u2019s benefited (more) from having motivation than him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just try to be myself,\u201d Fleming said. \u201cThat\u2019s all I ever try to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Typically a place to release vitriolic tirades and capture unedited reactions, the watch room at Barstool Sports\u2019 main office in New York was still. The TVs that lined the walls \u2014 normally alit with games to capture live-streamed reactions \u2014 were all turned off. The large reclining chairs were empty. The office space, replete with table games, cubicles and areas to relax, lay barren as the weekend was just beginning.<\/p>\n There was, however, one man in the room. Fleming, clad in a black Carlos Beltr\u00e1n jersey, was focused on the laptop in front of him. About four hours before first pitch on this late May afternoon, a man known for ear-piercing screeds was in this moment quiet and reserved \u2014 seemingly nervous and uncomfortable in a way he\u2019d likely never admit.<\/p>\n The rise of Fleming coincides with the evolution of Barstool\u2019s business model. The company first drew attention as a foul-mouthed blog that highlighted the Smokeshow of The Week. The content can still be sophomoric at best and offensive at worst, but the method of delivery has changed.<\/p>\n Their flagship podcast, Pardon My Take, can now be found on Netflix. The company hosts a morning talk show on FS1. At bottom, Barstool makes its bones as a content generator with deep ties to the gambling industry. They do short-form video, long-form podcasts and watch-along livestreams.<\/p>\n The company is searching for characters who can connect with consumers and stars who command attention. Within this milieu, Fleming has become something of a version of both.<\/p>\n \u201cI was hired to monetize him,\u201d said his producer and close friend Matthew Piper Jenks, who has also been a source of support in Fleming\u2019s massive weight loss. \u201cGet sponsorships. He\u2019s doing more for the company than he ever did in the past. He\u2019s doing more for himself than he ever did in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n Who is Frank ‘The Tank’? The always angry Mets superfan<\/p>\n Sam Blum and Johnny Sweet<\/p>\n Portnoy recruited Fleming after seeing him scream about delayed New Jersey transit service<\/a> before the Mets home opener. They looked him up, found his (now defunct) website<\/a>, which Portnoy estimated had \u201ca great grand audience of zero.\u201d It kept an encyclopedic history of every professional team, updated daily for decades.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople make such a mistake believing that he\u2019s fake or simple,\u201d Jenks said. \u201cNo dude, he\u2019s real, and he\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n Fleming is in his comfort zone when talking, or more often ranting, about Mets infielder Mark Vientos\u2019 low on-base percentage, or now-former manager Carlos Mendoza\u2019s poor in-game decision making. He is less certain when talking about himself, how he got here, why he acts the way he does.<\/p>\n When talk turns personal, Fleming can become fidgety and evasive. His laptop remained open as he scrolled relentlessly through his email and socials, sometimes turning questions about himself back to the Mets.<\/p>\n Why, he was asked, was it so hard for him to talk about himself? Why after all these years of instinctually shredding everyone else, could he not turn the microscope back on himself?<\/p>\n Finally, he opened the door just a little bit.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess,\u201d Fleming said, \u201cI never really got any compliments growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n So, as an adult, he struggles to give them, too. Renaming Mendoza, then the manager, Mendozeoff. Screaming at Bichette, Marcus Semien and numerous other underperforming, overpaid players. Ranting about the team playing Chappell Roan\u2019s \u201cPink Pony Club\u201d on a nightly basis.<\/p>\n And during this catastrophic season \u2014 churning one of the most expensive rosters in baseball into a last-place laughingstock \u2014 Fleming\u2019s anger more closely mirrors the emotions of the fanbase. His megaphone is louder, his rage more palatable, and his voice more aligned with that of the average fan.<\/p>\n The art of watching a game on camera for an at-home viewing audience has Fleming at its core. It\u2019s the kind of content Barstool, Jomboy and others lean into: Individuals hoping to build an audience by livestreaming their viewing experience. Fleming\u2019s must-see reactions have built that brand.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s certainly a lot of people, who I think nowadays, who will put on an act for their teams because they want to go viral,\u201d Portnoy said. \u201cBut a lot of times you can tell it\u2019s genuine from the nod. Frank is somebody who so clearly does it with or without the cameras.\u201d<\/p>\n Fleming left the office about three hours before first pitch at Citi Field and walked to the 7-line subway station at Hudson Yards. People approached him at nearly every New York City block.<\/p>\n Once a man unseen by the world \u2014 unless stared at for his obesity \u2014 he has found a lane doing something that\u2019s given him a purpose. Even if it doesn\u2019t make sense to everyone.<\/p>\n The autumn of 1986 should have been a core memory for Fleming. The then-10-year-old, however, had a 9:30 p.m. bedtime, which was frustratingly non-negotiable.<\/p>\n The Mets would go on to win the only World Series of his lifetime, with Fleming sent to bed in a room that felt to him like a prison, devoid of a way to experience it. Now a middle-aged man, he still regularly brings up that form of psychological torture. It eats at him.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Fleming said. \u201cEvery day I feel that.\u201d<\/p>\n Fleming\u2019s father never took him to Mets games; not once did they ever go to Shea Stadium together. He said his dad never showed him much affection. As Fleming put it, \u201cMy father wasn\u2019t the warmest soul on the planet. \u2026 He just wanted to sit in front of the TV all day.\u201d<\/p>\n In 1988, the Mets lost in Game 7 of the NLCS. Fleming\u2019s father, Frank said, blamed the failure on his son. This time, he\u2019d allowed Fleming to watch. This time, they\u2019d lost. His childhood trauma is intertwined with a team that continues to provide more on a nightly basis.<\/p>\n Fleming said his parents berated him as a child, sending him to a high school that they told him was for \u201cemotionally disturbed\u201d children. As he tells it, his life has been a checklist of receiving insults, from everyone to his parents, coworkers and acquaintances.<\/p>\n In adulthood, he was morbidly obese, eclipsing a scale that maxed out at 530 pounds. He was at risk of a far-too-early death and numerous other diseases. When Fleming began working as a court clerk in New Jersey \u2014 a job he\u2019d have for 16 years \u2014 he received HR complaints because of his smell when he\u2019d come back from lunch breaks.<\/p>\n \u201cThen I just sat,\u201d Fleming said. \u201cI sat at lunch. I didn\u2019t do anything. And over the next 10 years, I got to 500 pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really care. (The Mets) mattered. But nothing else really did.\u201d<\/p>\n For so long, the Mets were all he had. That\u2019s why, to Fleming, the stakes of every pitch were magnified.<\/p>\n In March, Fleming\u2019s father died from complications following an infection. His mother, with whom Frank continues to have a complicated relationship, lives in Idaho. He said his parents moved there late in life to escape into isolation.<\/p>\n Fleming still struggles to absorb compliments. When Jenks, his staunchest supporter, texts him that he\u2019s proud of him, Fleming often doesn\u2019t respond. Jenks has led the charge in Fleming\u2019s weight loss \u2014 encouraging daily walks, promoting his journey online, and holding him accountable. He posts Fleming\u2019s weigh-ins, good or bad.<\/p>\n Jenks is not offended when those texts go unanswered. It\u2019s not that Fleming isn\u2019t appreciative. It\u2019s just difficult to respond to communication that feels so foreign.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll give him the most heartfelt \u2018I love you, I\u2019m proud of you,\u2019 text, and he just doesn\u2019t respond,\u201d Jenks said. \u201cI don\u2019t get upset. I\u2019m just like, \u2018That must have touched his little heart. He doesn\u2019t even know what to say.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how to respond to it,\u201d Fleming admitted. \u201cI don\u2019t know how to process it.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the last times Fleming saw his father was in December, he said. They were flying across the country for Christmas, and had a lengthy layover in Denver.<\/p>\n In the airport, fans came up to Fleming, much as they do most everywhere he goes. But until that point, his father had never seen that. He was still the loser son \u2014 overweight and underaccomplished.<\/p>\n \u201cMy father was never physically abusive, but he was verbally abusive,\u201d Fleming said. \u201cVery emotionally abusive.\u201d<\/p>\n That trip, Fleming believes, showed his father that he\u2019d made something of his life.<\/p>\n \u201cThat really resonated with him,\u201d Fleming said. Sensing his dad\u2019s affirmation, he said, gave him a feeling that he\u2019d rarely experienced.<\/p>\n \u201cSome sort of pride.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you think it\u2019s a bit? Do you think it\u2019s genuine?<\/p>\n Pete Alonso, a beloved Met of seven seasons \u2014 a player who often faced Fleming\u2019s ire and sometimes even received his adoration, considers this idea.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026\u201d Alonso said, stammering a bit as he tried to answer. \u201cThat\u2019s a really good question.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s complicated,\u201d the now-Orioles first baseman finally said.<\/p>\n That, ultimately, is the question so many have of Fleming. What\u2019s real and what isn\u2019t? What\u2019s fair game for a New York caricature? What\u2019s crossing the line \u2014 particularly when that anger comes with a profit for a massive media empire? As Portnoy noted, Frank \u201cmakes a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just in New York,\u201d Alonso said of the increasing cascade of viral criticism he and his teammates receive. \u201cIt\u2019s probably the most apparent it\u2019s ever been. Especially with how social platforms have grown.\u201d<\/p>\n Alonso said he knew what came with playing in his former city, and he knew how to block out the noise. But he also didn\u2019t deny knowing Fleming and his content, and he didn\u2019t minimize the anger with which he spoke, or its impact.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s still gonna say what he\u2019s gonna say after every win and loss,\u201d Alonso said. \u201cI know the gig. I\u2019m not stupid. I\u2019m very aware of why he\u2019s a personality.\u201d<\/p>\n Many in the Mets\u2019 orbit have complicated views on the team\u2019s most controversial fan. For others, it\u2019s simple. Seated across from Fleming on the MTA\u2019s seven line to Queens was a woman whose gaze was unwavering. It was easy to clock her noticing Fleming off the bat, but Fleming either didn\u2019t see or didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n Eventually, she mustered the courage to say something. \u201cAre you Frank? I think you\u2019re the greatest. You\u2019re saying what we\u2019re all thinking. When we get off, can I take a picture with you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, go ahead,\u201d Fleming muttered, not looking up from his phone.<\/p>\n \n Around Citi Field, it\u2019s hard for Fleming to get around without being stopped by fans. (Sam Blum)<\/p>\n In this small subsection of the sports world, those requests are constant. Some are respectful. Some treat him with reverence. Some scream at him like a zoo animal, hoping to capture first-hand video of him snapping back. Still, he says yes to every request.<\/p>\n The rants have spurned a love-hate relationship with the Mets. While other MLB teams have invited Fleming to throw out the first pitch, the Mets organization, he believes, despises him.<\/p>\n At a charity event last season, Fleming claims that billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen told him to \u201cbe nicer.\u201d At the same event, he says another Mets player gave him an elongated stare down. He contends the team has a standing order never to show him on their broadcast.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d make sure the clouds rained down upon them,\u201d Fleming said, when asked his thoughts on the team potentially restricting his access to the ballpark.<\/p>\n The Mets did not respond to questions for this story.<\/p>\n Still, Fleming said, the family of one Mets player are fans, and stopped by the Barstool office in an attempt to meet him. And that charity event he attended was Alonso\u2019s, who said he appreciated Fleming\u2019s attendance.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also developed a friendship with Mets legend Darryl Strawberry, who supports his weight loss and has encouraged Fleming to let go of his father\u2019s criticisms. Strawberry is unafraid to text Fleming, and call him out for overly critical and emotional analysis.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I see him go off on social media, sometimes I\u2019ll be like, \u2018C\u2019mon Frank,\u2019 said Strawberry, an All-Star right fielder on that 1986 team. \u201cAnd he\u2019ll respond back maybe a day or two later. I guess he\u2019ll think about it.\u00a0 I\u2019m just trying to calm him down, \u2018Easy does it, Frank. \u2026 He goes, \u2018Yeah, you may have a point there.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The Mets had blown a four-run lead. Their bullpen had been mismanaged. Their defense had made mistakes and their offense had left runners on base. It was, in so many ways, just another night at Citi Field.<\/p>\n Fleming is at home on nights like those.<\/p>\n Fleming publicly blasts the team\u2019s rave-like in-game entertainment. He wears a bag over his head when things get ugly, and yells blood-curdling screams from his seat in the last row of the field level. He estimates he spends \u201ca couple thousand\u201d dollars a year on glasses, which he chews and breaks when stressed about his team.<\/p>\n Still, his first move inside the ballpark was to slap down his credit card for a $50 random memorabilia draw. He won a Luis Robert Jr. game-used bat pin. \u201cCan\u2019t be too used,\u201d Fleming retorted, eliciting an uncomfortable chuckle from the store\u2019s attendant.<\/p>\n And sometimes, even for the Mets, the unexpected happens. When it does, Fleming is seemingly at a loss.<\/p>\n There was no joy on Fleming\u2019s face when MJ Melendez skied a long two-run walk-off, 10th inning homer. He stared blankly, then shook his head as the celebration ensued with flashing LED lights and joyous fans.<\/p>\n Fleming sat in an almost stunned silence, unable to enjoy it in the same way as those around him. Mets wins seemingly never give him joy. At best, they offer relief.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re still nine games under .500. It\u2019s meaningless,\u201d he said of the win.<\/p>\n On Father\u2019s Day, Fleming completed his 1,000th walk. His weight is down by nearly half from his peak. His A1C, which measures blood sugar, is down from 11 to 5.4. He walks every day, even if it\u2019s painful or he\u2019s sick.<\/p>\n Schwarzenegger, the legendary bodybuilder, actor and politician, invited Fleming to speak at his weightlifting summit, and wrote earlier this week<\/a> that \u201cFrank is a machine. He can\u2019t be bargained with, he can\u2019t be reasoned with. He doesn\u2019t feel pity, remorse, or fear. And he absolutely will not stop, ever.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s added years to a life that now has more at stake than just the Mets: Friends, work, and a support system rooting on his continued physical and emotional health.<\/p>\n \u201cI need to make sure that I can trust him, and I need to make sure that he can trust me,\u201d Jenks said. \u201cI need to understand how this man is operating at his core. Because he\u2019s a complicated fellow.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/frankinline1-1-scaled.jpg\")
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