In 1985 the Philadelphia Phillies were not very good. By late June, they were mired in fifth place in the National League East when Mike Schmidt finally lost his cool. He was hitting .237 at the time, and even though he’d already led the Phillies to a World Series title, he was treated very negatively by the loccal fans.
One day talking to a reporter in Montreal he referred to the Philadelphia fans as “a mob scene” and said “Whatever I’ve got in my career now, I would have had a great deal more if I played in Los Angeles or Chicago. You name a town, somewhere where they were just grateful to have me around. I drive in a hundred runs a year, hit forty home runs, probably have been on more winning teams on the course of my career than most guys. It’s a damn shame to have negative fan reaction tied to it.”
On July 2nd, the Phils came back home. Expecting to really hear it from the home town fans, Mike Schmidt, the greatest player in franchise history, ran out onto the field wearing a wig and glasses. He still got booed.
I recall him getting cheered. Though the booing didn’t stop for long. Phillies fans boo when they are upset. It’s not personal.
I remember when we first got Billy Wagner—in fact I was at the stadium for his first game. He threw a pitch at 100 miles an hour and when it went up on the scoreboard everybody cheered. Then he threw one 100 and everybody cheered. And then he threw one 99 and everybody booed. What were we booing? Wagner? The radar gun? I was there and I still can’t tell you.