Washington, D.C. - Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper spent the first seven seasons of his career playing his home games at Nationals Park. On Tuesday, he returned to Washington for the first time since leaving the Nationals to sign a 13-year deal worth $330 million with the National League East rival Phillies.
Boy, did the locals let him hear all about it.
The rain-soaked D.C. crowd -- the elements delayed the game's start by more than a half hour -- booed Harper when he came to the dish in the top of the first with two on and nobody out to face Nationals ace Max Scherzer:
The booing, something Harper was anticipating, started well before Harper stepped to the plate. Fans also voiced their displeasure with Harper during a pregame video tribute. To be fair, the fans also booed Andrew McCutchen and Jean Segura -- but the most vicious reaction was certainly saved for the 2015 NL MVP.
Harper wound up going down on strikes on six pitches -- falling behind early before swinging over a Scherzer changeup to complete the sequence. The fans then cheered … before lustily booing Harper as he jogged out to right field to begin the bottom half of the inning.
