JJ Bleday’s family flipped off Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park last night after 4th inning home run off Zack Wheeler
Marlins rookie JJ Bleday, a Danville PA native, had his entire family and friends in attendance last night as the Philadelphia Phillies took on the Miami Marlins.
The Phillies won the game 4-1 and Zack Wheeler pitched great, tossing six innings, allowing five hits, and one earned run while striking out eight.
Wheeler did cough up a solo home run to Bleday in the top of the fourth inning, causing his family in right field to go absolutely insane, flipping off Phillies fans in the rows in front of them.
JJ Bleday Home Run off Zack Wheeler
More on last night from Audacy:
“It’s not easy at all, but they did it tonight,” Bleday told reporters of his family switching sides.
To make matters better, Bleday actually promised his girlfriend, Emily Mathewson — who grew up in Philadelphia and is in dental school at Temple — a home run to right field before the game.
Mathewson, who met Bleday at Vanderbilt, was actually able to get the ball after a close friend who works for Mathewson’s uncle bargained $200 for it from the fan who caught the ball, according to MLB.com.
“You can’t write it any better than that,” Mathewson told MLB.com. “He’s like, ‘I’m feeling a good oppo home run.’ I’m like, ‘No, no, we’re in right tonight.’ He’s like, ‘OK, I’ll get it done for you.”
Look, there’s a lot of people on “fake outrage” Twitter saying how lame and inappropriate this is but really, I absolutely love it. Bleday is from PA, grew up a Phillies fan, his girlfriend goes to Temple, and he just hit a home run off Zack Wheeler at Citizens Bank Park.
That’s amazing any way you look at it.
Again, the Marlins lost the game 4-1 and are one of the worst teams in baseball with a record of 49-60.
Let Bleday have his fun. If you want to be mad at a NL East division rival go yell at Keith Hernandez from the SNY Mets broadcast.
A solo home run and a few middle fingers never hurt anyone. They are all PA/Philly natives so if anything, they’re doing exactly what we would be doing to opposing fan bases. No one likes us, we don’t care.
