Jayson Werth says he is "perfectly fine" with his standing amongst Phillies fans
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Jayson Werth says he is "perfectly fine" with his standing amongst Phillies fans
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
It certainly looks like Jayson Werth has embraced his role as Citizens Bank Park villain, although the former Phillies right fielder played it straight when he met with reporters in the wake of the Nationals' 8-4 win on Wednesday night. Werth, who was booed before each of his at-bats, incited the sparse crowd that remained in the ninth inning when he retrieved a foul ball while standing in the on-deck circle, deked a throwing motion to the crowd, then tossed the ball into the Nationals dugout.
Here is Werth's account of the interlude, which should be read in his usual dry, amused monotone:
"Well, earlier in the game, I flipped a ball into the seats in right field to a fan and it bounced off her hands and landed on somebody elses lap, and then a Phillies fan reached into her lap and grabbed the ball and threw it back onto the field. So in the ninth, when I got the ball, I was going to flip the ball to a group of kids. Behind the kids were all these unruly middle aged men, who, to me, appeared to be snarling. It was the ninth, who knows, I kinda got the sense that they were intoxicated, but maybe not. So I was going to flip it to the kids, but then I thought maybe I shouldn't, because of the people behind those innocent little children. So I just flipped it in the dugout, and evidently that rubbed some people the wrong way. But after the events in right field, I just felt that maybe it was better to not throw it in the stands."
After Werth hit a two-run single to help ice the game, an interesting scene unfolded as a handful of fans in began chanting "Jayyyyyyy-sonnnnnn" in an attempt at mockery that felt a bit hollow given that the stadium was near-empty and the target in question had just helped secure his playoff-bound team a victory over a Phillies team that is now one game over .500.
"You can't take away what I accomplished here, what those teams did, my time spent here in this town, the endless free meals I got from fans and Philadelphians," Werth said. "It's just part of it. It's not really too upsetting. I'm perfectly fine with it."
Comments (56)
True Washington fans would never treat this fine humanitarian so shabbily...if there were any.— dasher- You're telling me I don't exist? How many Phillies games have you paid to attend this year? Or have you decided since mid-July that its more fashionable to come to CBP dressed as a blue empty seat? — ByeBye
- Isn't it time to get over this already? He is now two years removed from wearinga Phillies uniform. He has already "fleeced" the Nationals of $37 million for two relatively unproductive years. Jayson Werth made a very SMART business decision, as did the Phillies. RAJ was not going to give him $127 million for 7 years. The Nats did in fact make him an offer "he couldn't refuse". What is the problem? No one person who feels that Jayson Werth was a traitor would in fact have done anything differently..we all would have taken the money and ran. Phans have a right to boo him and he has a right to want to beat the Phillies because he is NOT a Phillie any longer. This was not like Scott Rolen forcing a trade, this is not like J.D. Drew refusing to sign with the team. This was strictly business.— drhoffman
- I agree. It's understandable that fans are mad at him for signing with a division rival, but little kids screaming "you suck" is an embarrassment to the fan base. Enough already.
— the_anti_negadelphian 
i agree with dr.hoff. i have werth's golden WS champs jersey too, so i'm a bit biased. i don't get the hate. he gave us his best years, and we won. he got paid, and sucked up HUGE payroll for the nats, instead of the phils. he's doing us all a favor. i'd like to wear his old jersey again before the old timer's game in 2030.— Evilvet- Absolutely don't understand the hate. It's Obnoxious already. The guy was an absolute Stud when he was here. He was a key part of our championship team and helped us get to a 2nd World Series......Oh and then UNBELIEVABLY (sarcasm) did what anyone and there mother would do in the same situation.....He got Paid by a higher bidder. Get over yourselves idiots. Jason Werth had an opportunity to take care of himself and his family for the rest of their lives.....Don't know about the rest of you but I love the guy and thank him for all be did while he was here. I hope he goes out and gets himself another ring just like Pat Burrell did— klew
- and here i just thought the whole scene was simply about fans amusing themselves.— phils_tnj1
- Being a Phillies fan, and AT THE GAME, I would say after Werth's cocky attitude towards the fans all night and a "I'm too good" attitude really egged everyone on. From my point of view, he teased the kids then pretty much said F off to a bunch of children. Werth is WERTHless. Everyone knows that Phillies fans are the toughest out there, so if you can't take it, don't come to the games. And the man screaming JAYSON was sitting right in front of me and was actually a Nationals fan. No mockery there..— phillies8626
- Thanks goodness there are others here who don't get the Werth-hate. The guy is one of THE reasons we won a ring. Boo Werth, but cheer Myers and Burrell? Give me a break. I'm all for getting on players to be a part of the game, but booing Werth is classless and uneducated, given his contribution to our 2008 Parade.— Philth
- Good point about Burrell. Talk about "werthless"! — the_anti_negadelphian
- The difference between Meyers and Burrell, and Werth, is that Werth blew off the Phillies by taking the money elsewhere, when the Phillies wanted to resign him. Remember Cliff Lee coming back for LESS money?— SEEK313
- Yawn.
This is much to do about nothing.
Besides, he's in the playoffs, and we're not. So both sides should shut up.
Good for him that he got his $125M bucks. We moved on the day he did.
Bring on the hot stove. Who's on the front burner?????— 24sDad - At this point, booing Werth is forced by Philly fans because the fans realize they will be in the news if they boo.— road515
- Well said Dr Hoff
"Isn't it time to get over this already? He is now two years removed from wearing a Phillies uniform. He has already "fleeced" the Nationals of $37 million for two relatively unproductive years. Jayson Werth made a very SMART business decision, as did the Phillies."— SteveP - Seek313, Cliff Lee wasn't coming here for 60 million less, that's was the difference between the Nats and Phillies offers. Come on, everybody, enough with the Werth hate. Part of the last championship in the city, and you boo him because he wanted to set his financial future? Be mad at Amaro for not offering enough if you wanted him to stay, but please, you're looking pretty dumb when you boo your own city's hero.— mjc1
- I boo because Angelo Cataldi and Rhea Hughes tell me I have to. I get all of my advice from those two geniuses.— AreaMan
- Lol. Some of the WIP guys are ok, but Citaldi is utterly clueless about baseball. — the_anti_negadelphian
- When Jayson Werth took the money, I applauded him and wished him all the best. I was a Jayson Werth fan, and I'm still a Jayson Werth fan. Don't understand the hate at all.— sfrankln25
- as a phillies fan and Philadelphia resident I found it embarrassing the way everyone booed werth for doing exactly what everyone of them would have done...taken an offer with another employer that was once in a lifetime. he's right, it's usually middle aged men who should know better— dreinterests
- Especially when that standind is looking down on the Phillies in the 2nd Division of the NL.— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- I would like to see the Phils make a trade for Mike Trout IF we wants to play in Philly? That's what I don't know.— PhilsfaninNebraska
- I would like to see the Phils make a trade for Ted Williams or Lou Gehrig. I know they're dead, but these trades are still more likely to happen than the Angels trading Trout to the Phillies. — jermigio
- Mike Trout is a Phillies fan, so he'd probably be up for it. But I don't see the Angels trading him. — the_anti_negadelphian
- Even if he were up for it (not sure what people are basing this on--if he grew up in Chicago would he want to be traded to the Cubs?), and even if the Angels were stupid enough to get rid of him, who are the Phillies going to offer in exchange--John Mayberry and Nate Schierholtz, plus a few prospects? I love these trade ideas that have absolutely no basis in reality. — jermigio
- Sorry about my typo. shoule be he and not we. Just saying....— PhilsfaninNebraska
- A little home town discount(Lee) is one thing. Werth wasn't going to get anything more than 5 years at 15 million form anyone and then the Nationals offer a contract that was al ost double any other offer. He had to take it.— UncleStosh
- What is the problem? The problem is the Phillies over paid a lot of other players and let him walk when he was still producing and they had no suitable replacement. They didn't lower ticket prices and fielded and inferior team since 2009. It was clear to me that this team would never win another WS in 2010. If Howard is worth 24 million a year, Utley is worth 18, Doc 20, Hamels 25, Lee 20, your telling me Worth wasn't worth it? How much profit did the Phillies make the past 2 years Gelb. Why don't you share that information?— TrollExterminator
- Good comeback. Payroll goes up and you're holding your breath for a ticket price drop. BTW - the "inferior team" the Phillies fielded last year won 102 games. Make the playoffs and anything can happen, including losing the first series you play. Period. It was clear to you we'd never win another World Series? That's sad in so many ways. Finally, don't get so caught up in the numbers and profit margin. The games will be more enjoyable. — vafan
- Why boo the guy because his contract was up and the Nats offered him a great deal? BTW he was smart, the Nats are a far better team, which I didn't think would happen. werth has had one horrible year and this year hasn't played out yet--he may be .300 hitter with little power or he may end up a hero in the post season. No bitterness, it was a far transaction with him and the Phillies.— Barneyboy
- He should be the most popular guy in town. Not signing Werth to his ridiculous contract was a great move by Amaro. Werth is a decent player when healthy but he's produced little since landing in DC with a $126 million deal.
— eman - You can boo Jayson Werth in front of your TV sets all October long this year. This non-existent Nats fan thanks you for the clutch player, and for you continuing to motivate him through the actions of your fans.— ByeBye
- Sad that frontrunner Nats "fans" have to come on an opposing team's blog to post their brilliant comments.— NotMyRealName123
- Agree, it's all business and Werth just did what anyone would. No issues here with him. It's just fun to boo the other team and its better players. He's not worth what he got but I'm glad he got it because it was based on what he did here.— PhillySubsMac
- I agree. Werth was all about business, and the Nats overpaid for him (though his 2011-2 take is more like $24M rather than the $37M claimed above).
Yep, they overpaid. Kind of like how the Phillies overpaid for Howard. And Utley. And Hamels. And Victorino. And and and...
Payroll estimates via baseball-reference.com
Phillies 2012: $173M
Nationals 2012: $93M
-.-.-.- TOP 15 2012 SALARIES ON PHILLIES (11) AND NATIONALS (4):
Cliff Lee: $21.5M
Roy Halladay: $20.0M
Ryan Howard: $20.0M
Cole Hamels: $15.0M
Chase Utley: $15.0M
JAYSON WERTH: $13.0M
RYAN ZIMMERMAN: $12.0M
EDWIN JACKSON: $11.0M
Jonathan Papelbon: $11.0M
Jimmy Rollins: $11.0M
Hunter Pence: $10.4M
Shane Victorino: $9.5M
Joe Blanton: $8.5M
ADAM LAROCHE $8.0M
Pretty sure you should zip it rather than citicizing the Nats for personnel compensation decisions.— notphillyduh - Why are we even talking about this toolbag? He was a tool when he was here, did anyone think he would change his stripes by going south? he's got juan pierre numbers for christs sake. Who's the idiot now?— spittooncj
- 2008-10 must be ancient history to some, judging by some of the comments here. Werth, Utley and Victorino were the gamers on those Phillies teams. They hustled all the time and helped the Phillies win a lot of games. Amaro wasn't going to give Werth more than 4 years. Boras is Werth's agent and got someone to pay more and for more years. It wasn't illegal, so why look petty? Actually, I think it's interesting that Werth is hitting leadoff for Washington; arguably a better choice, with his avg., # of pitches seen and OBP, than our seemingly immovable (in Manuel's mind) leadoff guy.— ijj
- Really, I don't understand the hate either. Would anyone of the haters take less money just to stay with an employer? Get real! He had a business opportunity and took advantage of it, period. As far as his so called "attitude", he has always given the appearance of aloofness even when he played here. He definitely has a sort of strange personality but does he really deserve the ire of Philly fans? I don't think so. Just saying........— Bill_C
- Werth breaks is wrist in Washington and said the Phillies fan clapped...Werth teases a little kid with a ball and blames the Phillies fans sitting behind the kid...Werth is a low-life jerk— fxfitz
- Say what you want about Jayson Werth, but there isn't one Phillies fan out there who wouldn't have taken the money and ran, just like Jayson did. Given a chance at a do over, I don't think that the Nats would have paid him that money either, but he managed to parlay 3 good (not great) seasons into a gold mine.— SteveS11
- I attribute the boos to Werth's comment in May after the Sunday night game between the Phils and Nats.
After claiming that a couple of Phillies fans yelled that they were glad he broke his wrist, Jayson said he would make sure there will never be a parade on Broad Street.
If Amaro doesn't make some adjustments to the roster (which might include dumping Manuel), Jayson won't have to lift a finger to ensure the Phils don't win another World Series.— DPinDC - the "fans " booing werth are simply those who are filled with their own self-loathing . they are unable to feel good about themselves and gotta let it out somewhere . they're the same people or descendenmts of the people who booed schmidt . werth is an excellent ballplayer who i'm sure was as shocked as anyone by the offer made by the nats . the phils knew the nats were being outragious and so did werth and boros . that's why the phils retreated so quickly and werth/boras jumped so quickly . but to boo a guy who loyally and consistently gave you his best is a disgrace. don't call yourselves loyal phillies fans - werth was a lot more loyal to you than you ever have been to him . thank god he didn't bring your attitude to philly with him when he played in philly— RUgodot
- I guess all these people booing Werth would have turned the 126 million for 7 years down. I dont know what the Phillies offer would be but it would not come close to the 18 milion per year the Nats offered. My guess Phillies offer would be in the 4-5 year range at 13- 14 per. Nats at the time were a poor team and felt they had to make a statement. No way Phills going to match Nats offer. In 2 straight years after Nats had 1st pick which turned out to be Strassburg then Harper. Each has talent off the charts.... The inability to deal with low outside pitch turned Juan Samuel from star to much lower level. Hope same does not apply to Howard.— Don w
- Jayson was my favorite Phil during— TEDcGEGI
- Give Werth a break with the booing. He played great for us while here in Philly. Best of luck to him during the upcoming playoffs.— TEDcGEGI
- I don't really care what happened with Werth. The Phillies would have been foolish to sign him so he did us a favor. But he is with a rival team and he seems to enjoy being the villain so some fans are happy to reciprocate. I personally don't really care that much. Since the Phillies got good, I don't care about JD Drew or Scott Rolen either. I enjoyed that the Phillies were good and their teams weren't as good.— Phillies2008WSChamps
- who cares— BigMike100
- If Werth had signed with the Phillies for less (but still a lot of money) he'd be getting booed because he only has 5 home runs. He was part of a championship team here. His attitude is the same as it's always been and something we loved him for when he was a Phillie. I still appreciate Werth and think it's ridiculous to boo him. He plays the game the right way.— Philliesguy
- My memory must be faulty, because what I recall from 2010 is that Werth couldn't hit a beachball with men on base, and most Philly fans, myself included, were hoping he wouldn't be re-signed. No doubt many of them are the same ones who boo him now simply because that's what you do in Philly. And you'd think the guy could afford a razor on his salary.— mechfan2240
- His mom is hot.— Jean Valjean II
- Werth seems to have a cocky attitude, always did and always will.
I don't care for it, however, he was extremely valuable when he was
here. To be honest i don't think Rube wanted to sign him anyway
because he needed the money for other positions and couldn't afford
to pay him what he was.....WERTH.....Anyway, if someone stuck
$127 million in your face would you turn it down? He's not werth
that kind of money but that's a different story. However, he
should remember if it wasn't for the Phils he might not even be
in baseball.— associate - Phils offered Werth about 65 Million. Nats offered him 126 Million. Can you blame him for going to the Nats?— zeke128
How would you react?We had a bunch of jerks led by Capt u no who--the
nose--go down to Wash and boo and rant at the guy when he broke his wrist.Would you act any different.
As far as a business decision Jayson will be in the playoffs for years to come.
Money aside not a bad move.— HO HUM- Thanks for the memories dude, hasn't been the same since you left.— CptObvious
- Wish we could all get over the werth obsession. who cares? he's gone, we have other problems in phila. i can't be bothered booing him when he's here. it just feeds his enormous ego.— deb2
- I think people know that deep down he's a jerk. That's why they boo him. I'm not saying that some of our fans aren't jerks either.— Drumphil
- He's no Brian Dawkins...— bingbangbong
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