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."
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
