WASHINGTON (106.7 The Fan) -- With Bryce Harper's first visit to Nationals Park since joining the Philadelphia Phillies looming Tuesday night, there's still uncertainty as to how Washington Nationals fans will greet him during his first at-bat.
Harper posted a thank-you message to Nationals fans on Instagram just hours before the game.
Nationals closer Sean Doolittle said he hopes Nationals fans give Harper a warm ovation.
"I honestly don't know what to expect," Doolittle said on his Tuesday morning "Closing Time with Sean Doolittle" segment presented by Lindsay Volvo Cars of Alexandria. "I could it see it going a couple of different ways. But one thing that I think everybody is sure of is that it's kind of the hottest ticket in town, it's something that all of baseball is gonna be paying attention to tonight, so it's gonna make for a really electric atmosphere.
"As far as what fans should do, I hope they cheer him. I understand if there's fans maybe haven't quite gotten over it yet, the way that things went down, but you think about what he meant to this city and to the organization for – what was it – six years. He kind of grew up in and around this city. I think overall he represented this city and the organization really, really well.
"At the end of the day, it was a business decision that didn't go our way. He decided to go in a different direction, but I don't think it was personal, I don't think there was any ill will ... so I understand if there are some boos kind of scattered in there, but I think he deserves a nice ovation and everybody should settle in and watch him and Max (Scherzer) go at it."
If you ask Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated, Harper deserves applause.
"I think it's gonna be mixed. He should receive a great ovation, the last seven years gave people a lot of thrills there, and I think first time up, he deserves to be thanked for the effort and the production that he gave Washington," Verducci told The Sports Junkies.
"After that he's a member of the Phillies, and you boo him like everybody else. But I understand it will be mixed. Part of it is people just like to be contrarian for something 'cool' about getting up there and booing. You get your picture on 'SportsCenter' and have a dumb sign, I get that.
"But overall, I think the majority of fans will get to cheering this guy. Mixed, but mostly 60/40 cheers."
By Josh Luckenbaugh and Chris Lingebach