Pedro Martinez on 'ChangeUp': Surprised Bryce Harper was booed in D.C.

Tom Gatto

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Pedro Martinez on 'ChangeUp': Surprised Bryce Harper was booed in D.C. image

Pedro Martinez has much more sympathy for Bryce Harper than do Nationals fans.

The Hall of Fame pitcher (and former Phillie) told DAZN's "ChangeUp" on Tuesday that he was "a little bit surprised" by the reaction Harper received in his first game as a visitor in D.C. since signing a 13-year, $330 million contract with division rival Philadelphia. 

MORE: Watch 'ChangeUp,' a new MLB live whiparound show on DAZN 

"Everybody has to understand this was probably Bryce Harper's opportunity to make a career for himself, secure his family and secure his future," Martinez said in response to a question by host Adnan Virk. "And a lot of people probably mistake how important it is for a top athlete like Bryce Harper to feel that he's finally secure with his family.

"It didn't work out in Washington. I guess he wanted to feel more comfortable and he decided to go to Philadelphia. Nothing to blame him for." 

STEELE: Harper gives new fans thrill in old park

Nationals fans booed Harper every time he came to the plate Tuesday. They cheered wildly after Washington ace Max Scherzer struck out Harper in his first two at-bats. The reaction was less hostile (skewed greatly by the Phillies fans who were at Nationals Park) after Harper lined a double to right field his third time up and sliced an RBI single to left against Nats reliever Matt Grace in his fourth trip.

(UPDATE: He hit a massive home run to right off Jeremy Hellickson his fifth time up, the ball sailing over Phillies fans packed into the right-field seats. He flipped his bat in front of the Nats' dugout on his way to first base.)

Martinez also gave Harper high marks for moving to a passionate baseball town that is one of the East Coast cities that "reflects the spirit of baseball."

"When you go to Philadelphia, you go to New York — both sides — and you go to Boston, you're in a city where they eat and breathe baseball," Martinez said. "And I think Bryce Harper chose a good place for him."

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.