Are Philly fans really known for their aggressiveness?
On March 15, the Philadelphia Phillies played against the Toronto Blue Jays in Clearwater, Florida. Phillies fans are making sure their prized possession comes to no harm and are ready to defend him if he does. Bryce Harper, the prized possession, was recently signed with the Phillies with a thirteen year and $330 million dollar contract. In other words, Harper is costing us a lot of money and we only hope he can repay us by playing well.
During the afternoon game, Trent Thornton, Blue Jays pitcher, pitched a 96 mph fastball, hitting Harper, who was up at bat, in the right ankle. Harper fell immediately to the ground in pain, while the teams’ medics rushed out to meet him.
Trent Thornton has apologized, explaining he was aiming for an inside fastball but failed to follow through correctly, admitting it was a complete accident. The Blue Jays manager, Charlie Montoyo, has asked people to stop threatening Thornton on social media as he has does not have history with Harper, nor desired for the player to get hurt.
After the game ended, the Phillies winning 3-2, the team announced Harper had a foot contusion in his right ankle and did not know how long it would take him to heal. Philly fans are still unforgiving and have been sending Thornton death threats within the past couple of days. However, the threats should be less intentional, as he played in the March 17 game on Sunday.
Harper has recovered in less than two days, noting it was nothing severe enough to keep him from playing on Opening Day, March 28, in Philadelphia. As Philly fans, we can only hope there will not be a similar incident in the near future, as Harper is a key player in our lineups and will continue to be.
Sources: Philly.com, NY Daily News, NBC Sports
Natasha Chaillou 
Megan Keating 
Daniel Finegan