The 2026 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park had the kind of crowd reaction only Philadelphia can deliver. Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber were the hometown names in the field, but the night ended with Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals taking the trophy after outlasting Schwarber in the final round.
Walker needed every bit of that late push. Schwarber opened the last round with 11 homers, and Walker answered with 12 to sneak past him.
The Phillies crowd made sure the Cardinals slugger felt every swing, booing him hard as he worked his way to the win. He wasn’t the only visiting player getting that treatment, either.
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Junior Caminero and Wilson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox were also met with loud boos.
That kind of hostility is nothing new in South Philly, where opposing uniforms rarely get a warm welcome. The fan base has long carried a reputation for being rough on visitors, and the old Santa Claus story from 1968 still hangs over every conversation about Philadelphia sports fans.
To some, it’s part of the fun. To others, it’s just flat-out ugly.
On X, the reaction came fast and loud. One Atlanta Braves fan said Major League Baseball should never bring All-Star Week back to Philadelphia and even suggested Los Angeles would be a better choice.
Hey MLB, plz never host All-Star week in Philly ever again. Literally any other city will do. I’ll even take LA over this.
That same fan also drew a contrast with Dodgers supporters, saying they carry themselves with a little more class.
🤣🤣 dodgers fans have a littleee more class than these feral Phillies fans I can’t deal lol
Another fan called the scene classless, arguing that booing every non-Phillies competitor crossed the line.
Ban Philly from hosting future all star events! Boo-ing all competitors in the home run derby besides Phillies is Busch league.
A Washington, D.C.-area commentator said the crowd seemed to have boos ready for just about everything.
Philly is booing everybody and everything so far tonight.Kid in outfield not making a play.Slugger taking a pitch.The dude selling the beer.The drone flying over head.If you’re not Schwarber or Harper, you’re getting booed.
The Athletic’s Jayson Stark pointed out that this wasn’t the usual Home Run Derby atmosphere.
I don't recall booing being a thing in Home Run Derbies of yesteryear. Philadelphia just made it a thing in this Derby, roundly hooting everyone in the field who was not Kyle Schwarber or Bryce Harper. It's on!
Leave it to Philadelphia to pioneer competitive booing at a batting practice.
A Chicago sports fan was even more blunt, blasting the crowd and saying the city should never get another All-Star Game.
OK, that’s it, the Philadelphia Phillies will never host another All-Star game again. I mean these fans have to absolutely suck.
It’s the All-Star game. You should be cheering on some of the greatest players in the sport yet here you are booing every player that does not wear…
Not everyone was offended. One Phillies fan embraced the whole thing and called the crowd’s treatment of the visitors “perfection.”
Phillies fans booing everyone except Schwarber and Harper at the home run derby is perfection. #ringthebell pic.twitter.com/BMYWJyYwo6
Whatever side of the argument you land on, the one thing nobody can deny is how loudly Philadelphia sports fans show up. Phillies, Eagles, 76ers, Flyers - they’ll let you know exactly what they think. And when the home team is rolling, they can turn just as quickly into some of the loudest believers around.
Right now, the Phillies are giving them plenty to cheer about. After a rough 9-19 start and the firing of then-manager Rob Thomson, they’ve climbed to 54-43 and sit within two games of the Braves in the National League East.
Interim manager Don Mattingly has done enough to make staying in the job beyond this season a real possibility, and the Philadelphia crowd is behind him.
In Other News...
Kevin Durant Just Put A Powerful Label On The New-Look Sixers
Kevin Durant was in Philadelphia for the MLB All-Star event, and he had a pretty clear read on the 76ers new direction after their trade for Jaylen Brown. Durant described the revamped roster as dangerous, a label that carries some weight coming from a player who has spent years sizing up contenders from every angle. He also sounded genuinely upbeat about Brown getting a fresh start in a city that tends to make its feelings known one way or the other.
Durants comments fit the moment around the Sixers, who are trying to turn a major roster swing into something that looks more than just bold on paper. He also took a detour into the broader league conversation when asked about LeBron James free agency, saying he had no idea where James would land while acknowledging the Lakers star will keep producing at a high level. For Philadelphia, though, the more immediate takeaway was Durants belief that this new version of the team has real bite, and that the fan base will be right there to amplify it. [Read more 🡒]
Draymond Green Just Sent Sixers Fans A Message They Needed
Draymond Green took aim at a familiar NBA talking point this week, pushing back on the idea that different off-court lives automatically mean there is real friction between teammates. His point was simple enough for Philadelphia fans to understand: chemistry is not always built on constant contact away from the floor, and players can operate in the same locker room without being close friends.
For a Sixers team that has lived through its own share of relationship drama, the reminder landed in a place that probably felt familiar. Green pointed to the Joel Embiid-Ben Simmons era as an example of how off-court differences can become a Philadelphia storyline without fully defining what happens in games, and he also used his long-running bond with Stephen Curry to show that even elite teammates do not need to spend every summer in each others pockets to make it work. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Suddenly Pulled Into A Joel Embiid Debate They Cannot Ignore
The Joel Embiid conversation has a way of pulling other teams into the frame, and Atlanta is the latest to get dragged into the exercise. Any serious look at a deal involving the 76ers star starts with the same uncomfortable backdrop: the injuries have piled up, the contract is massive, and the question is no longer just what Embiid can still give Philadelphia, but how long the team can keep betting on his body holding up.
For the Hawks, the appeal is obvious enough to make the debate unavoidable. A proposal built around Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher and Corey Kispert would ask Atlanta to part with defense, upside and shooting in one swing, while taking on the kind of star power that can reshape a franchise in an instant. It is the sort of hypothetical that forces both front offices to weigh present value against future flexibility, even if the real answer remains tucked behind the speculation. [Read more 🡒]