The City of Brotherly Love lives up to its nickname, at least according to Braves manager Brian Snitker.
Atlanta’s captain said he did not bring his family to Philadelphia for Friday’s Braves-Phillies opener because of the “hostile” nature of the crowd at Citizens Bank Park.
Snitker taunted Philadelphia fans before the end of spring training.
“It’s tough out there,” Snitker said in an interview with Atlanta radio station WZGC that aired March 21. As reported by the Associated Press. “And, to be honest, they don’t seem to care either. Last year was tough enough for them to worry about it.”
Before the Braves’ 9-3 win over the Phillies on Friday, Snitker was asked what made the Philadelphia crowd so “wild” and he gave a rather evasive answer.
“My wife is a babysitter and our grandchildren are in school,” Snitker said. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Honestly, they wouldn’t be anywhere else but home.
“I’m not going to go into all of that. Let’s talk about today.”
On Thursday, Snitker was loudly booed by the crowd of 44,452 people.
“They don’t boo anybody,” Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider said, according to the Associated Press. “That’s what I was told. I like playing here. It’s a fun place to play. You’ve got crazy fans on the other side of the field, you’ve got a good team, and that usually makes for a good game. Yo.”
It’s unclear whether there was any particular incident or inciting incident that led Snitker to feel that way, but the Braves and Phillies, rivals in the National League East, have been close for the past two years in the National League Division Series. are colliding with each other.
And during the 2023 incident, both had extracurricular activities primarily centered around Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia.
After the Braves won Game 2, a Braves infielder was heard in the Atlanta locker room scolding Phillies star Bryce Harper, saying, “Atta, kid, Harper.” Phillies fans asked Arcia about it.
Harper made his own statement in Game 3, looking at Arcia twice after he hit a long home run.
In Game 4, Phillies fans continued to boo Arcia, and before the Braves suffered a season-ending loss, Arcia gestured to the crowd from the dugout.
However, it is unclear whether such opinions influenced Snitker’s decision.
As for Friday’s game, the teams were deadlocked 2-2 until the 8th inning, but the Braves scored 7 runs to break things up and win their first game of the year.
