Author Topic: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park  (Read 1964 times)

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Offline imref

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #25: October 17, 2022, 10:38:37 AM »
I assume Nyjer Morgan was booed quite a bit.

Offline Elvir Ovcina

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #26: October 17, 2022, 11:34:48 AM »
I assume Nyjer Morgan was booed quite a bit.

Why?  He was nuts in an entertaining way and was one of maybe 8 or 9 guys on the 2009 team who had any business being on a major league roster.

Offline imref

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Offline Elvir Ovcina

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #28: October 17, 2022, 12:33:25 PM »


I mean I'd boo that play, but it's not like he was running himself into stupid outs twice a week. 

Which, considering how infrequently Our Man Vic actually gets on base, is a pretty impressive TOOTBLAN percentage.

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #29: October 17, 2022, 12:36:49 PM »
Morgan also would talk to the pigeons out in CF, which kind of earns him a pass on some dumbassery  :D

Offline Elvir Ovcina

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #30: October 17, 2022, 12:41:45 PM »
Morgan also would talk to the pigeons out in CF, which kind of earns him a pass on some dumbassery  :D

Was it ever resolved whether the pigeons were talking to Nyjer Morgan or Tony Plush, though?

Offline Five Banners

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #31: October 17, 2022, 12:48:12 PM »
Why?  He was nuts in an entertaining way and was one of maybe 8 or 9 guys on the 2009 team who had any business being on a major league roster.

Towards remembering why some might’ve booed:

https://www.si.com/mlb/2010/09/03/code

“Virtually all of it was grounded in the Code. A quick timeline:

Aug. 25: Morgan allegedly throws a ball at a fan in Philadelphia. The relevant unwritten rule -- somewhat unique, in that it has more to do with players' self-preservation than general respect -- says that ballplayers should never engage with hecklers because it rarely ends well.

In this case, the league quickly levied a seven-game suspension. Morgan, claiming a misunderstanding, has appealed the decision, and at least one fan has corroborated his account of throwing a ball to a fan, not at a fan.

Aug. 27: Morgan gets picked off first in the eighth inning of a close game against St. Louis, which proves particularly costly when the batter, Willie Harris, subsequently hits a home run. The Nationals lose, 4-2. Morgan is confronted after the game by Nationals manager Jim Riggleman, and dropped from leadoff to eighth in the batting order the following day.

Aug. 28: Morgan tries to level Cardinals catcher Bryan Anderson in a play at the plate, despite the fact that Anderson has his back to the play and is moving in the opposite direction. This means that Morgan's desire to take out the catcher draws him away from the plate; he's ruled ineligible to score when teammate Ivan Rodriguez spins him around near the edge of the cutout to go back and touch safely.

There are two sections of the Code at play here. One says that a runner should only try to take out a catcher when the plate is blocked so sufficiently that a slide would likely lead to an out. Even more importantly is the rule that says to never let personal vendettas get in the way of the team's success. In this case, Morgan's circuitous rout away from the plate was all about inciting violence -- Riggleman posited that Morgan was angry about his demotion, and took it out in any way he could -- and not at all about adding to his team's run total.

Riggleman was angry enough to call his player out in public, after apologizing to both Anderson and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. Morgan did an "unprofessional thing," he told the media, and, indicating that lessons will be learned, said that "You'll never see it again." (In this regard, the manager was incorrect.)

He then benched Morgan for the series finale, under the auspices that the outfielder had become too prominent a target for the Cardinals to safely take the field.

Aug. 30: Morgan responds to Riggleman. "I guess he perceived it as some nasty play with the intentions of trying to hurt somebody before coming to me and asking me about the situation, which was very unacceptable," he tells The Washington Post. "But on my half, I'm not going to go ahead and throw fuel on the fire. I'm going to try to be as professional as I can about the situation."

It's frequently the case, of course, that whenever players feel the need to delineate the fact that they're being "professional," they're actually being anything but. (Code violation: Never call out your manager in public.)

Morgan, in fact, cited the unwritten rules in his own defense, saying that Riggleman "just basically did a cardinal sin. You don't blast your player in the papers." Unless, of course, his behavior has deteriorated to the point where the manager feels he has few other options.

Aug. 31: It doesn't take long to stir up more controversy. In the 10th inning of a scoreless game, Morgan runs into Marlins catcher Brett Hayeswith such force that Hayes is later shelved for the remainder of the season with an injured shoulder.

Unlike his last collision at the plate, Morgan did not go out of his way to reach his target, but consensus held that he would have been safe -- with the go-ahead run, no less -- had he slid. (See previous Code citation about running into catchers. The Marlins then won with a run in the bottom of the frame.)

When he took the field for the bottom of the inning, Morgan again got into it with fans, this time being caught on tape cussing them out. (See previous citation regarding fan interactions.)”

Offline Elvir Ovcina

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #32: October 17, 2022, 01:06:59 PM »
Thanks.  Enlightening in one sense - I now remember more clearly why I thought he was nuts - but I'm not seeing why any of those would cause me, as a home fan, to boo him. 

Offline machpost

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #33: October 17, 2022, 04:41:12 PM »
There was also the time when Nyjer Morgan either bobbled the ball or outright missed it at the wall, and instead of running it down, he threw a temper tantrum instead. That was the last straw for me.

Offline Senatorswin

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #34: October 17, 2022, 09:09:35 PM »
I had forgotten all of Nyjer's shenanigans. The other guy who was kind of out there but in a different way was Elijah Dukes. He seemed to have a dark side.

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #35: October 18, 2022, 12:32:15 PM »
Not exactly "dark", but remember the "softball girls" game?   :hysterical:
I had forgotten all of Nyjer's shenanigans. The other guy who was kind of out there but in a different way was Elijah Dukes. He seemed to have a dark side.

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #36: October 18, 2022, 01:08:48 PM »
"You dead dog." I ain't even playin'."

It's close, anyway.

I had forgotten all of Nyjer's shenanigans. The other guy who was kind of out there but in a different way was Elijah Dukes. He seemed to have a dark side.

Offline Chelsea_Phil

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #37: October 18, 2022, 03:26:00 PM »
I just read about Dukes wiki page, and that person is totally messed up.  I can’t imagine he was ever a good teammate.  Kind of like Papelbon, but 100 times worse.

Offline Duke of Earl

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #38: October 21, 2022, 02:44:26 PM »
I'm sorry to say I don't know who Cheney is.

VP.  I think he stood in for Bush (Jr.) at one of the opening games.  Was definitely booed.

Offline Chelsea_Phil

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #39: October 23, 2022, 06:24:36 PM »
Feel bad for Soto and Bell who did their part , not sure why Hader was not put in to face Harper.  Big mistake by Padre’s manager.

Offline KnorrForYourMoney

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #40: October 24, 2022, 05:36:11 PM »
I mean I'd boo that play, but it's not like he was running himself into stupid outs twice a week. 

I remember him doing a lot of boneheaded crap in 2010.  The glove-throwing against the Orioles was the worst of it, but he was generally just committing really stupid gaffes and being frustrating.

Which is weird because, as you pointed out, he was actually pretty decent in '09.  Not sure what happened that offseason, but he came back in 2010 and really sucked.

Offline Duke of Earl

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #41: October 24, 2022, 05:57:56 PM »
Feel bad for Soto and Bell who did their part , not sure why Hader was not put in to face Harper.  Big mistake by Padre’s manager.
I thought Smoltz's explanation was reasonable. At the start of the inning (before the first batter) he predicted that if they get the first batter out then Hader would come in.  If the batter got on, he wouldn't.  Getting six outs, PLUS having to worry about the runner, was more of a load than they wanted to put on him.  Getting five outs, and starting with bases empty, would have been much easier.

If it had been my decision, I'd have put Hader in to face Harper, finish the inning, and then consider putting someone else in to close.

Offline 1995hoo

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #42: December 16, 2022, 10:56:35 AM »
VP.  I think he stood in for Bush (Jr.) at one of the opening games.  Was definitely booed.

Cheney threw out the ceremonial first pitch in 2006. This was shortly after the hunting incident where he accidentally shot someone in his hunting party. So not only was he booed, he was also heckled in the form of people in the lower bowl at RFK holding up bulls-eyes and other similar things. (Gus Frerotte got similar treatment at FedEx Field after his infamous head-butt of an end zone wall in the 1997 tie game with the Giants. When he later came back with the Lions, people put up a sign on that wall with a bulls-eye telling Frerotte to "hit it here" or something like that.)

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #43: December 17, 2022, 09:28:05 AM »
Cheney threw out the ceremonial first pitch in 2006. This was shortly after the hunting incident where he accidentally shot someone in his hunting party. So not only was he booed, he was also heckled in the form of people in the lower bowl at RFK holding up bulls-eyes and other similar things. (Gus Frerotte got similar treatment at FedEx Field after his infamous head-butt of an end zone wall in the 1997 tie game with the Giants. When he later came back with the Lions, people put up a sign on that wall with a bulls-eye telling Frerotte to "hit it here" or something like that.)

I wonder if Biden will finally throw out a first pitch next season. Even from the blue seats at Nats Park the chants of Let's Go Brandon would ring out.

The Freotte return game was in the playoffs (same day as the Music City Miracle), it was bitter cold, they played Bang Your Head over and over that day.

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #44: December 17, 2022, 01:00:46 PM »
I wonder if Biden will finally throw out a first pitch next season. Even from the blue seats at Nats Park the chants of Let's Go Brandon would ring out.

Looks like he was invited for opening day 2021 but turned it down.  He threw one out in 2009 as VP. 

Other the :w: in NYC after 9/11, I can't remember a President not getting boos at a game.  Even Obama, who was always pretty popular around DC (not so much in the wider country at times), managed to get booed with that stupid ChiSox hat.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #45: December 17, 2022, 01:48:52 PM »
Looks like he was invited for opening day 2021 but turned it down.  He threw one out in 2009 as VP. 

Other the :w: in NYC after 9/11, I can't remember a President not getting boos at a game.  Even Obama, who was always pretty popular around DC (not so much in the wider country at times), managed to get booed with that stupid ChiSox hat.

And terrible throw.

Offline welch

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #46: December 18, 2022, 05:57:20 PM »
Maybe the President should "throw like the original, President Taft: he handed the ball the Nats' starter. When I was a kid, President Eisenhower stood in the President's Box and tossed the ball into a crowd of players. There was none of this trying to pitch from the mound. When did that start? And why?

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #47: December 18, 2022, 08:27:27 PM »
Maybe the President should "throw like the original, President Taft: he handed the ball the Nats' starter. When I was a kid, President Eisenhower stood in the President's Box and tossed the ball into a crowd of players. There was none of this trying to pitch from the mound. When did that start? And why?
Reagan started it.  I forget if it was his visuals guy (Michael Deaver?) or his own, but he wanted a bigger show of it. 

Offline Senatorswin

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #48: December 19, 2022, 01:08:42 PM »
Reagan started it.  I forget if it was his visuals guy (Michael Deaver?) or his own, but he wanted a bigger show of it.

That had to be a nightmare for the secret service if it was announced ahead of time. Pretty much relying on stadium security to make sure nobody gets a gun in while the president is going to be standing in the open in front of 50,000 fans.

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: Nationals Players Booed at Nats Park
« Reply #49: December 19, 2022, 01:30:51 PM »
Keep in mind that the crowd at the 2010 opening day was at least 75% Phillies fans, so Snoopy or Tiny Tim would have been booed. 
Looks like he was invited for opening day 2021 but turned it down.  He threw one out in 2009 as VP. 

Other the :w: in NYC after 9/11, I can't remember a President not getting boos at a game.  Even Obama, who was always pretty popular around DC (not so much in the wider country at times), managed to get booed with that stupid ChiSox hat.