Willson Contreras put his hand to his ear Monday night as the crowd at Citizens Bank Park booed him while he was introduced before the Home Run Derby.
The Derby rarely provides a home-field advantage as the fans often cheer everyone. But this was South Philly and there were two Phillies in the field. So everyone else got welcomed with jeers.
“That’s what they do here,” said Contreras, a first baseman from the Boston Red Sox. “It’s nothing new. They’ve been booing me for 10 years. I have fun with it.”
“In this place, you prepare for anything. It was fun. They booed every player. That’s who they are. You have to have fun with it.”
Jordan Walker provided theatrics in the final round by rallying past Kyle Schwarber in an all-time Derby finish. And the crowd provided an all-time Derby environment. The Philly fans — just like they do in October — became part of the show. It was great theater.
The non-Phillies were booed from Ben Rice of the Yankees to Munetaka Murakami of the White Sox while Schwarber and Bryce Harper were met with roars. The crowd provided the perfect backdrop.
“It’s part of home field, man,” said Bryce Harper, who didn’t make it out of the first round. “They took it and had a lot of fun with it. It was pretty cool.”
The crowd heavily booed Contreras in the semifinals against Schwarber, cheering only when the batting-practice pitcher slipped a pitch that nearly hit Contreras. They erupted when his final swing fell short, allowing Schwarber to advance to the final against Walker.
The boos were even louder for Walker, who was jeered before each swing and cheered when he made an out.
“It felt like we were playing a game,” said Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh.
The boos seemed to do their job against Walker, but he rallied by homering on his final four swings to defeat Schwarber. The crowd, once deafening, was silenced. The home-field advantage could only do so much.
“My thought was Philly is brutal,” Walker said. “I mean, honestly. But I think it’s pretty special because they love their players and that’s what you want from your home where you play. I’d never hear people cheer so loud for Schwarber and Harper. And those guys did their thing, for sure.
“But, you know, I can’t hate them, because that’s their guy, so I just got to play the game.”
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