LOS ANGELES — The loud booing by angry Philadelphia Phillies fans at their home ballpark likely drowned out similar noise Bryce Harper was making.
The Phillies slugger has a single and three strikeouts in the NL Division Series, which Philadelphia trails 2-0 against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I love our fans. I boo myself when I get out,” Harper said Tuesday.
Game 3 is Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, with the Phillies facing elimination in the best-of-five series.
“I will probably get booed tomorrow night, too,” Harper said.
He didn’t agree that a change of venue — away from their frustrated fan base — is a good thing for the slumping Phillies.
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“We’ve got some of the best fans in baseball and they make me play better, so I enjoy it,” Harper said. “They show up for us every day. 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.”
Third baseman Nick Castellanos came up big in a wild ninth inning that nearly saw the Phillies steal a win Monday. The fan reaction whipsawed between huge cheers and deafening boos in the 4-3 loss.
“I think that the stadium is alive on both sides, right?” Castellanos said. “When the game is going good, it’s wind at our back, but when the game is not going good, it’s wind in our face. The environment can be with us, and the environment can be against us.”
Harper was glad to be in sunny Los Angeles, not far from his hometown of Las Vegas where he was a Dodgers fan.
He became a father for the fourth time last week, when his wife, Kayla, gave birth to a son.
“I’ve got an incredible wife, man. She pushed that thing out in three pushes and 30 seconds,” Harper said. “She’s an absolute monster doing it. Women. Man, what a breed. I’m serious, it’s an incredible thing. Being able to hold your son for the first time is something. It’s one of the greatest moments of my life.”
The couple now has two boys, Krew and Hayes, and two girls, Brooklyn and Kamryn, all of whom are age 6 and under.
Harper said he loves baseball but his family means the most.
“I definitely miss them right now,” he said.
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