Phillies fans hurl threats at pitcher who struck Bryce Harper

By: Cindy BorenThe Washington Post Posted: 10:42 AM CDT Monday, Mar. 18, 2019

An errant pitch left Philadelphia Phillies fans hurling dire threats and garden-variety invective at Trent Thornton after he struck the ankle of their prized free agent Bryce Harper mere days into his career in Philly.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/03/2019 (2704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Harper, the team’s $330 million man, directed a few choice words of his own at the Toronto Blue Jays pitcher as he sat holding his right ankle in the batter’s box Friday. Most of the fan threats came via social media, but some fans were yelling that they hoped Thornton died as he left the field, according to Canada’s SportsNet. One user tweeted a threat about “ending your miserable life.”

Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar urged Thornton to report the threats to Major League Baseball. As for Harper, he escaped serious injury, suffering what X-rays revealed to be a bruise from the 96-mph pitch that left him day-to-day.

The injury is a setback for Harper, who admitted he has not gotten his timing down yet. Asked if he thought he’d dodged a bullet, Harper, who is hitless in only 10 plate appearances in four spring games, replied, “I wish I would’ve dodged the baseball. It definitely could’ve been a lot worse.”