Bryce Harper had a big one for his former fanbase this week.
The Philadelphia Phillies played Thursday against the NL East rival Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. During the ninth inning of the contest, the Phillies star Harper came up to bat with a runner on and nobody out in a 5-5 ballgame.
As Harper stepped up to the plate, Nationals fans were heard loudly chanting “F–k Bryce Harper!” The former NL MVP Harper then responded in kind by proceeding to hit a go-ahead two-run home run on the second pitch of the at-bat.
As he rounded the bases, Harper gave the finger to the Washington crowd. He also flashed another one-fingered salute to the Nationals fanbase right as he touched home plate.
Nationals fans were chanting “FU*K Bryce Harper” before his at bat
— Punchoutpitch (@Punchoutpitch) June 26, 2026
Harper hit a home run and flipped off the crowd twice pic.twitter.com/ZiLd5fIctR
Philadelphia trailed Washington 5-0 in the early stages of Thursday’s game. But they responded with a whopping 10 runs unanswered (including Harper’s ninth-inning bomb) to secure a 10-5 win and move to 45-36 on the season (fourth-best in the NL).
As for Harper, 33, he began his MLB career with the Nationals playing there from 2012-18. But he left to sign a monster 13-year, $330 million deal with the division rival Phillies in 2019 after an acrimonious contract negotiation with Washington. While the Nationals did go on to win a World Series without Harper in 2019, their fans still do not care much for the eight-time All-Star. On Thursday however, Harper was able to have some fun right back at them.
