Home Run Derby

Most of the time you see a video of heckling at a Major League Baseball game, the fans are giving it to a player, whether he be an outfielder or the bullpen catcher.  There’s usually some profanity or something witty (or not so much) bantered about until the player acknowledges them.

But how often do you see a Major League player giving it to the fans? 

Here’s Joe Smith, a relief pitcher for the New York Mets, throwing some vulgarities towards the Bleacherites in Left Field at Wrigley on Tuesday, April 22 …

… Oh yeah, be warned … because Joe Smith has a potty mouth. 

“You ain’t shit.  You got nothin’.  I’m in the big leagues, you idiot.  I’m right here” or something like that.  I love it.  I’m not so sure Mets management will dig it - but it was Cub fans and not Met fans.

No word if Cincinnati Reds announcer Marty Brenneman sent Smith a fruit basket after the game.

Mind you, Smith gave up three hits and a run over 2/3 of an inning in the game and the Cubs went on to win 8-1 and sweep the Mets in the two-game series.

Sept 3, 2004

Fenway Park, Boston.
Red Sox lead the Rangers 2-0. 
Ninth inning. 
Two Out. 
One Ball, Two Strikes. 
Runner on second base.

Watch as Red Sox relief pitcher Keith Foulke throws a pitch to Kevin Mench. 

You know … Foulke might have been juust a bit distracted on that pitch.   

Miss it? 

Front row - girl on the cell phone to the left of the umpire.  Gives the ol’ one-boob salute to Foulke.

Mench grounded out on the next pitch to end the ballgame, so it’s unlikely that she was thrown out of the stands.

I wonder if she was talking to “Johnny from Burger King.” 

We don’t cover the Minor Leagues enough here at Home Run Derby …

So let’s go to an unidentified Minor League Ballpark sometime last summer to see some very unique heckling of a “pint sized player named ‘Scooter’ ” …

… by what appears to be the Bogeyman

The recipient of that barrage has got to be Kevin “Scooter” Jordan - a former 33rd round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2003. He’s a “pint-sized” 5′8″ tall and weighs 180 pounds.

Last summer he was with the St. Joseph Blacksnakes of the indepedent American Association. He’s currently an outfielder with the St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League.

Watch your back in the parking lot, Scooter. The Bogeyman is waiting to eat you.

We here at Home Run Derby owe most of our recent visitors to a Baseball Heckler (and since we’re not above beating a dead horse into the ground) - we decided to look around the Majors for some other examples of heckling - above and beyond Homemade Signs and Bronx Cheers and the like.  

Let’s find some fans giving the business to some Baseball Millionaires.  We started in the best place to look - which also happens to be the easiest. Good old YouTube. In ascending order …

Let’s start North of the border. 

Here, some Toronto Blue Jays fans are shouting an old (but dreadfully unimaginative) standby at Minnesota Twins outfielder Jason Kubel … I wonder if this kind of stuff will get into a player’s head?

Toronto fans get points for the group effort, but that’s about it.  Per our evidence, Blue Jay fans heckle like the Jays have played baseball this season.  They Suck.

Let’s see if a Minnesota Twins fan heckling Boston Red Sox outfielder Wily Mo Pena earlier this season can show them how it’s done …

Maybe he’ll ask where the missing L is from “Wily”.  Maybe Not.

That’s a little better, but something’s missing … oh I know … some crowd support would be nice.  The other fans aren’t inspired by the heckler.

Let’s go to Wrigley Field where Left Field can be a dangerous place for an Outfielder’s ego. 

The Cubbies’ Bleacher Bums are directing their pent-up frustrations towards Milwaukee Brewers’ OF Kevin Mench.  Surprisingly, they’re not shouting anything about Mench’s gigantic melon …

Okay - that’s more like it - a definite ringleader with a catchy chant and a throng of followers drunk on the Blue Kool-Aid - or something else.  Keep it up and you might get a ball.  Or not.

So far we’ve seen fans heckling players while they’re in the field. And pretty far away from the player.

What if you could get up close, say like then-Rockies’ backup catcher Todd Greene in the bullpen? And had no intention of getting anything in return except perhaps an invitation to brawl in the parking lot after the game? 

Imaginative and to the point - and it doesn’t get old.  And Greene made the mistake of turning to look and not saying anything. 

But heckling the Bullpen catcher?  Isn’t that like picking on the kid that got dropped off at school via the short bus?  It’s so … so … Philly.  And I love it.

There you have it … the four classes of heckling.  There’s probably a correlating four classes of drunk baseball fans too.

To preface this story, it should be noted that the tickets my buddy Tom and I got for the fateful game were tickets that we traded in from the cancelled Indians 2007 home opener, which took place on a blizzard-like afternoon on April 6, 2007.  Pics of Tom and I from that game (which never existed) are attached.  Another memory that we’ll not soon forget.

Tom and I are both from the Cleveland area and are die-hard Tribe fans.  We can both frequently be seen at Jacobs Field, sitting in the bleachers, and digging into whomever is playing center field for the Tribe’s opponent that day.

That Wednesday night (5/2/07) was a chilly night by the lake, but the excitement of 2007 Tribe baseball was keeping us warm.  There was a slim turnout to root on the Tribe for their 8th series win in their first 9 series of the season.  The hometown fans in the center field bleachers were pulling hard for their team.  But my friend Tom and I also had another agenda; getting into the head of Vernon Wells, Toronto’s center fielder.

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This past Sunday, we wrote about some hecklers who got a ball from Blue Jays CenterFielder Vernon Wells. Wells politely gave back some of the heckling he was getting during the game …

The Toronto Sun originally told one side of the story … Vernon Wells’ side.

They’ve since come out with another article about the Heckler ringleaders, Jeff Raycher and Tom Montague.

Last Wednesday during a game at Cleveland’s Jacobs Field, Raycher and some of the other “Bleacher Creatures” had a running, good natured banter going with Wells that ended with Wells tossing a ball to Raycher complete with a tongue-in-cheek message.

“Usually all we get is a tip of the hat or a wave,” Raycher said of their heckling of whomever the centre fielder is that’s playing against their beloved Indians. “This night we had at least 100 or so (fans) jumping on board and getting on Vernon pretty good.”

Home Run Derby also had a chance to talk to Jeff Raycher - the guy who actually has the infamous ball. And as you can see, Jeff sent us pictures. I haven’t seen them anywhere else.

Home Run Derby: Based upon the report of heckling that I read in the Toronto Sun, I called your comments “lame-ass criticism.” Care to refute me?

Jeff Raycher: Our heckling was superb. You cannot get that kind of response (the ball) from something that didn’t work. Vernon has a great sense of humor, and we commend him for it.

HRD: Tell me what you guys were saying then.

JR: There were many chants … While the gist of the quote is close, it’s not the same … If you were there listening, you’d see it was humorous and not lame.

HRD: Did you ask for a ball?

JR: We never asked for a ball. That was his idea.

HRD: Do you plan on putting the ball up for auction on eBay, like I speculated?

JR: The ball is not for sale, so you won’t see it on eBay.

HRD: Any plans to keep on heckling?

JR: Next up: Road trip to Detroit in September for the Tigers/Blue Jays rainout make-up game (Sept 10). Vernon is getting another dose In the mean time, the Blue Jays still suck. GO TRIBE.

HRD: We are so going to Detroit - ROAD TRIP !!

Home Run Derby would like to thank Jeff Raycher for his time, his wit, and his pictures.

And we wish him continued success in heckling millionaires who play a kid’s game.

MAY 10 UPDATE - Read Jeff Raycher’s story in his own words … Only at Home Run Derby.

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Blue Jays CF Vernon Wells had a very unqiue way of handling some loudmouth hecklers while he was in Cleveland last week.

He heckled back - via a baseball.
This past Wednesday, a group of Cleveland Indian fans were tossing some lame-ass criticism towards Wells …

“You Suck!” “You like men”

How original. Randy Quaid did a better job of heckling Rick Vaughn in Major League II.

One of the Hecklers wanted Wells to give him a ball. Why he thought he’d get one is beyond me, but I suppose it never hurts to ask.

Wells gave him a ball. And even personalized it for the guy …

“Here’s your ball, now please tell me what gas station you work at so I can come and yell at you when you’re working. Please sit down, shut up and enjoy the game. From your favorite centre fielder, Vernon Wells.”

How long until the ball ends up on eBay?

Hat Tip: The lovely ladies at Babes love Baseball, via Sox and Dawgs

5/8/07 UPDATE: Please check out our interview with the Heckler, Jeff Raycher. Exclusive pics of the infamous ball!

5/10/07 UPDATE: We also have Jeff Raycher’s story in his own words.

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