Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper shared a candid opinion about being booed by fans during the first two games of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Harper has struggled in the series, going just 1-for-7 at the plate with three strikeouts, one walk, and no runs or RBIs. His lone hit was a single, and he’s yet to produce against either right- or left-handed pitching.
The Phillies held home-field advantage at Citizens Bank Park against the Dodgers, but they dropped both games—largely because their offense and bullpen failed to back up the efforts of their starting pitchers.
While Game 1 did not feature many boo birds, Game 2 did, especially as frustrations with the offense — namely the big three of Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner — grew over 18 innings of poor batting.
Harper got his own personal chorus of groans from the crowd, though he did not take it as a personal attack.
“I love playing at the Bank. I love our fans. I boo myself when I get out. I’m the same way,” he said after the game when asked about the boos.
“I trust in what they do. They show up for us every day, day in and day out. So if we deserve to be booed, if we deserve to — they spend their hard-earned dollar to come watch us play; they expect greatness out of us and I expect greatness out of myself and my teammates as well.
“If they believe that, I don’t know what’s going through their head or mindset. We’ve got some of the best fans in baseball, and they make me play better. So I enjoy it.
“I will probably get booed tomorrow night, too. So it’s kind of the same thing. It’s, like, what are we talking about? Same stuff.”
Harper and the Phillies will get a chance to start making things right on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium as they go on the road for an elimination game against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
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