Phils’ Harper booed in delayed D.C. homecoming
Bryce Harper is greeted by a crowd full of boos in his first at-bat in Washington and is struck out by Max Scherzer. (0:34)
WASHINGTON — Better late than never for Bryce Harper‘s homecoming.
Harper, the former Washington Nationals star who made his return to D.C. on Tuesday night as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, had to wait longer than expected to see how the crowd at Nationals Park would react.
Nats shortstop Trea Turner left Tuesday’s game against the Phillies after being hit on the index finger with a pitch as he squared to bunt.
Following a 41-minute rain delay, with two runners on and nobody out in the top of the first inning, Harper stepped in against Washington ace Max Scherzer and was booed loudly by an abnormally large midweek April crowd. Although there also was a smattering of applause throughout the stadium, which included several right-field sections full of Phillies fans who bused down from Pennsylvania, the predominant reaction was overwhelmingly negative.
After a prolonged pause that lasted longer than a minute, Harper proceeded to square off against Scherzer, striking out on a 2-2 changeup that elicited a reaction from the Nationals’ Twitter account:
thank u, next
During his second at-bat in the top of the third, Harper was booed loudly once again by the standing crowd. With two outs and the bases empty, and the Phillies leading 1-0, Harper struck out for the second time in the game, fanning on a 3-2 cutter from Scherzer.
In the top of the fifth, amidst another chorus of boos, Harper lined a double to right field off Scherzer. When he arrived at second base, Harper smiled and waved exaggeratedly toward his Phillies teammates in the third-base dugout.
Harper delivered an RBI single to left in the top of the sixth off reliever Matt Grace, increasing Philly’s lead to 6-0. After the play, the boisterous Phillies fans in right field started chanting, “MVP” repeatedly, which was followed by a refrain of “We’ve got Harper.”
In his fifth at-bat, facing Jeremy Hellickson in the eighth inning, Harper launched a mammoth two-run homer into the second deck in right-centerfield, his third bomb of the season. He punctuated the blast with a monster bat flip in the direction of the Nationals dugout.
In an odd twist of fate, because of the inclement weather, Harper’s career as a Nats Park visitor began in exactly the same way that his tenure as a resident there ended. During his last appearance in Washington, on Sept. 26, 2018, Harper was standing in the on-deck circle when rain halted the game after the final out of the seventh inning.
According to a Washington Post report released on Monday, it was during that September rain delay that Harper received an envelope containing a 10-year, $300 million offer from the Nationals. Five months later, on March 2, the former MVP inked a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies. Exactly one month after that, the 26-year-old outfielder returned to the nation’s capital as a visitor for the first time.
On Tuesday morning, Harper posted a lengthy Instagram message thanking Nationals fans.
Then, on Tuesday afternoon, Harper sat at the podium in front of a media throng whose size was more befitting of an October playoff game than an early April contest.
“It was definitely different,” said Harper of what it was like entering Nationals Park as a member of the Phillies. “But it felt good. Felt normal. After the three days in Philly and being a part of that group all spring training, got real familiar with the guys and the city and the fan base. It’s been great. Just coming to another stadium and try to do my job. Any time you leave somewhere, you think about coming back. Played those three days in Philly, and tried to make sure, get those three days in, and really enjoyed that. Turn the page to coming here for the next two.
“Definitely weird taking that drive to come down here. But very excited for the next chapter, and looking forward to it.”
When asked what kind of reaction he expected to get from the D.C. crowd, Harper was realistic.
“Everywhere I go, if I’m a visiting player, I usually get booed. So, that’s just part of it,” he said. “But I think I might get a little bit tonight. I might get some cheers, as well. All the messages that I got on Instagram were, we’re gonna cheer you tonight and boo you later. It’s just part of sports. I get it.”
Harper wasn’t the only visiting player who received jeers from Nats fans. Leadoff man Andrew McCutchen and No. 2 hitter Jean Segura, who smacked back-to-back singles to start the game, were booed loudly.
By that point, the crowd already was revved up, as Harper’s name had been greeted with boos during the announcement of starting lineups. The jeering continued during the ensuing video tribute that played on the giant scoreboard in right-center field. The montage, which lasted just over a minute and featured clips of Harper receiving his MVP award, dedicating a local baseball field named for him and winning last summer’s Home Run Derby in D.C., concluded with a message that read, “Thanks for the memories Bryce.”