Bryce Harper flashed a finger towards the right field seats at Nationals Park after smoking a go-ahead, two-run homer in the ninth inning of the Phillies’ 10-5 win over Washington on Thursday. Harper, who played with the Nats for seven seasons, has become very familiar with rounding the bases at Nationals Park. After all, he launched 84 during his regular-season tenure with the squad from 2012-2018, and has hit 19 more as a visitor.
But when Harper raised his right arm in the air, unwound a finger towards right field, and left it hanging there a few seconds as he ventured towards second base, he did something Nats fans had never seen before from their once-beloved hero. And he revealed postgame that he had a clear reason for it.
Bryce Harper's gesture was in direct response to jeers from Nationals fans throughout the night
"Yeah, I mean obviously,” Harper (via Jomboy) said in response to whether or not he heard the chants. They were not bashful in nature, as “f*** Bryce Harper” rang out in repetition just before he clobbered the dagger homer.
Bryce Harper wants people to know it was his ring finger that he flashed at Nationals fans who were chirping him all week
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 26, 2026
"It's weird coming from a fanbase that I sweated for for seven years." pic.twitter.com/SvtPEQMtQM
“Ring finger though,” Harper said. “Make sure that's out there. Obviously, everybody heard [the chants]. We heard it the other night. They were doing the same thing to Trea [Turner], which is crazy ‘cause they should probably know their history a little bit with him winning a World Series here. It’s weird coming from a fanbase I obviously sweated for for seven years.”
Harper’s had a complicated relationship with the city of D.C. after he left the Nats to sign a 13-year, $330 million deal with Philly in 2019. They serenaded him with a loud chorus of boos , while showing him signs that read “snake” and “why?” when he returned there for his first game as an opponent. After striking out twice, much to the delight of the raucous crowd, he hit a double, an RBI single, then mashed a 458-foot home run into the Washington night, unleashing an epic bat flip before beginning his trot.
“It's part of it,” Harper said of the fans after Thursday night’s game, via MLB.com. “I love coming in here and playing here.”
Harper’s homer marked the third straight game for the Phillies in which they hit a ninth-inning, go-ahead HR, a new MLB record. The streak helped them sweep the Nats in an all-important divisional series, while creeping closer to the Braves for the NL East lead. Harper’s been at the center of Philadelphia’s latest charge, and continues to show his clutch gene, even in the face of high emotion.
“He's not afraid of the stage, that's one thing for sure,” interim manager Don Mattingly said, via MLB. “He's been in it his whole life. I don't think the stage bothers him. I think it probably motivates him when people get on him. It's probably something that he feeds off of a little bit."
Let Thursday’s sequence be a reminder to Nats fans about Harper: Don’t poke the bear. If you dare, beware, because he may do to you what bears do in the winter. Put you to sleep.
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