After a rough outing in which a pitcher gives up eight runs on six hits and four walks in only 2.1 innings of work, it's probably best to leave him alone. He knows he had a bad day, and it doesn't help to let him know that he didn't perform so well. It happens to everyone, be it a fifth starter or an ace — heck, Max Scherzer just gave up a grand slam to a rookie relief pitcher.
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But one not-so-courteous fan felt the need to tell Phillies starter Vince Velasquez — who surrendered that aforementioned stat line in his outing against the Boston Red Sox on July 9 — that he was "pathetic" and added that he should "learn how to pitch." It's unknown whether it was a Phillies or Red Sox fan, but neither would be particularly surprising. In a video that surfaced on social media thanks to FanSided writer Matt Rappa, you can hear the second of those two remarks and see VV's subsequent reaction.
"...Shut up. I want to see your fat a** go and do it," Velasquez told the fan before turning to someone holding up a phone camera. "Are you guys recording? Oh, that's so nice."
Rappa, like many others, said that Velasquez was right to react this way. It's also worth noting that this incident came at a time when another Philadelphia athlete, Danny Green of the 76ers, had recently spoken on fan behavior and said that it was "something that needs to change in the city."
"I love our fans, but when things aren't going well, they can't turn on you. That's the one thing I would disagree with or dislike,” Green told John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Some guys use it as motivation, some guys have a chip on their shoulder, but I think that needs to change. They need to be riding with us, regardless of how things are going.
"...We're the No. 1 team in the East, still playing well, and in some games they'll boo us—that's part of the culture here, part of their way of showing they love us—but with a guy like Ben, and other guys, I think they need to stick behind them and stick by them as long as they can, until the horn blows. And even then, he's here. He's given so much to the organization and the city, on and off the court, that he deserves that respect and that support."
Though these are not really comparable scenarios — a direct heckling of Velasquez to his face after a game, from someone who might not have even been a Phillies fan, is a very different thing than the general 76ers fan base's reaction during games — but it's yet another example of outside spectators having an impact on players with their words and behaviors.
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