Phillies crowd hilariously taunting Lance McCullers is prime Yankees content
This was the stuff of nightmares for New York Yankees fans last year. When Gerrit Cole was warming in the Fenway Park bullpen, Boston Red Sox fans were making his life a living hell, taunting him with a Kermit the Frog plush doll (making fun of his voice) and hurling expletives in his direction.
The result? A loss in the AL Wild Card Game. An embarrassing one. Fast forward to 2022, and Houston Astros fans didn’t even need to lift a finger. The Yankees were swept by their kryptonite in the ALCS. Handily.
But the Astros have now run into their kryptonite in the World Series: an 80-something-win NL East team. The series is far from over, but Philly’s momentous victory in Game 3 had Citizens Bank Park shaking. Without question, Philly also has the fan advantage, as they do in almost every sport.
Prior to the start of Tuesday night’s game — one that resulted in a 7-0 Phillies victory — fans seated in the outfield watching Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. warm up before he took the mound taunted the right-hander with some very, very specific and surprisingly appropriate insults.
Head to any ballpark prior to a big game and you’ll find fans acting the same way towards opposing starters as well as relievers and outfielders during the game. This is the life of fandom. And this guy nailed it.
Yankees fans will love Lance McCullers getting taunted by Phillies fans
The result? McCullers lasted 4.1 innings and surrendered seven earned runs on six hits and a walk. He allowed a World Series record FIVE home runs before being pulled. All of Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins, Brandon Marsh and Alec Bohm went yard.
Would’ve been much cooler if the Yankees were able to do this, say, in ALCS Game 4. Would’ve been nice if McCullers conveniently tipped his pitches against the Yankees, too. But New York fans can at least find pleasure in an opposing fanbase getting in McCullers’ head and an opposing lineup being able to make contact (and a lot of it) against his curveball.
The Yankees would like to get their own revenge for the 24 straight curveballs in the 2017 ALCS loss, but that might never happen. The next best thing is watching this.
It might be a little sad, but every small win along the way counts. And so does every loss for the Astros.