“That’s a clown fandom, bro.” At least that’s what you would think was on Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper’s mind considering some comments he made about the Washington faithful on Monday.
With the team currently hosting the NL East-leading New York Mets in a crucial divisional series, many Nationals fans were spotted leaving Monday’s 8-5 loss early. And it certainly irked the 22-year-old Harper.
“They left in the seventh, so that was pretty brutal. I don’t know. Whatever.” said Harper after the game per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.
The three-time All-Star’s irritation is surely justifiable. With the Nationals trailing the Mets by four games heading into the series, this could very well be the most important stretch of their season. Such a poor display by the hometown fans during meaningful September baseball is horribly disappointing, especially during an afternoon game on a Labor Day holiday.
Harper has done more than his part to keep Washington fans in their seats, having an MVP-caliber 2015 campaign with 34 home runs and 83 RBIs while sporting a .339 batting average, a 1.122 OPS, and an absurd 201 wRC+ (over two times the league average). Still, maybe he wasn’t completely without blame after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in that now-infamous Monday game. Perhaps Harper’s really the one who should be worrying about staying in the game.
But come on, Washington! Get your act together. Leaving early to beat traffic is supposed to be a stigma that’s reserved for Los Angeles sports fans!
H/T For The Win
*Stats courtesy of Fangraphs*
