Phillies News: Vince Velasquez Insults Heckling Fan after Red Sox Game

Phillies starter Vince Velasquez is not having a good week.

First, he was tagged for a season-high eight runs on six hits in the Boston Red Sox’ only win of the three-game series this past weekend. The Sox knocked him out after just 2 1/3 innings of work; his July ERA is now 14.04.

Then, as he left Fenway, a Phillies fan heckled him, and Velasquez responded.

TBOH’s own Matt Rappa posted the video, given to him by a Phillies fan who witnessed the interaction:

Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez insults fan during verbal altercation at Fenway Park.

There’s a lot to unpack here.

Baseball is an extremely difficult job, and it’s a profession done in front of the critical eyes of millions. If you think it’s hard to go to a performance review with your boss, imagine what it’s like to be booed off the field by thousands, have millions mock you online (I’m guilty of this, too), and get told “You suck” (or worse) by people who’ve never had to be in your position.

Of course, Velasquez and any professional athlete know that criticism comes with having a job in the public eye. And yes, they’re well-compensated for their work. But in this age of social media, where people can hide behind faceless, anonymous accounts and say almost anything with almost a complete guarantee that there will be no consequences, “fans” have taken criticism to an appalling new level.

It’s pretty unfair to ask athletes – who are, above all, human beings – to just take endless abuse. Especially when it’s face-to-face, like this encounter, instead of thousands of faceless fans booing in unison. Booing is a mob mentality behavior; one-on-one is personal and direct, and in that way, probably more intense.

Most people who criticize athletes – myself included – have never played the game at this level, or any level. We have no idea how much work goes into their performances, or how difficult it is to do what they do. Our takes – be it insults or notions that we could do baseball better than a player or GM – are ridiculous, because we’re on the outside looking in.

However, Velasquez’s response targeted the person’s (who is out of frame in the video) weight, which wasn’t necessary. It’s unclear if his actions fall under MLB’s Code of Conduct, but no matter what, that’s a bad look for him and his team. He’s well within his rights to clap back, as the kids say, but he loses me with his choice of insults.

Velasquez should’ve said something like, “I’d love to see you try to do better,” and it would’ve been a perfect mic-drop moment. Instead, he comes off as nasty, which will only give fans more to complain about.

Update:

Velasquez issued an apology on his Instagram stories on Monday.