clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Bryce Harper says some stuff about Camden Yards, sounds kind of dumb

Bryce Harper said some stuff about Oriole Park at Camden Yards. If you weren't already booing him automatically, this should really change your opinion.

Rob Carr/Getty Images

Many Orioles fans already find Bryce Harper to be a player who should get booed on general principle, what with him being a player who projects the persona of kind of being a douchebag, and, much more significantly, being a good player on a team that is geographically close to the Orioles and possibly/probably/definitely is currently trying to screw the Orioles out of tens of millions of dollars of future television revenue.

There are also many Orioles fans who don't find Harper to be automatically worth booing, a stance that I find puzzling but can ultimately respect. Harper, after all, has been bad against the Orioles in his career, and his career numbers remain bad even after getting a home run on Saturday and also being gifted a double on Sunday because the Orioles don't have a real right fielder. Is it worth despising someone who sucks against the Orioles? Maybe not.

It's always worth it to boo a player who says something bad about Baltimore or especially Oriole Park at Camden Yards, however. Harper placed himself in this category following Sunday's game, proclaiming that he "can't stand (hitting at Camden Yards)" because it's "a little dark."

I'll be the first to admit that, on the scale of critical things one might offer about this city or this stadium, this is a relatively tame complaint. Yet it's also fascinating because this makes Harper literally the first left-handed batter to ever complain about hitting at Camden Yards. In eight games played at Camden Yards, Harper has a batting line of .200/.250/.367. Do you know who else has a problem with hitting at Camden Yards, or with the lighting at Camden Yards? No one. EVER.

So if you've been on the fence about booing Harper, well, now you have your reason. Not only did he say something indicating that Camden Yards isn't up to snuff, he might well have said it just to make up some justification for why he stinks here. Maybe it's not the lights that are the problem, Bryce.