A caught pop-up never drew such ire.
Peter O’Brien was merely doing his job, hauling in David Wright’s foul ball near the stands in the fourth inning. It didn’t sit well with the sold-out Citi Field crowd, which gave him the Chase Utley treatment the rest of the evening, showering him with intense boos.
“He’s a cult hero now,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly joked after the Mets’ 1-0, 13-inning victory.
“That was hilarious,” starting pitcher Trevor Richards added. “That was priceless.”
It would end up being Wright’s final at-bat in the final game of his storied career, as he was lifted in the top of the fifth. The hostile crowd didn’t bother O’Brien, who nearly homered in the seventh, flying out to deep left-center field and singling in his final at-bat in the 12th.
“It’s awesome. That’s the atmosphere you like to play in,” said the 28-year-old O’Brien, a former Yankees minor leaguer who has bounced around after being traded to the Diamondbacks in a 2014 deadline deal for Martin Prado, spending time with seven different organizations. “As an away guy, getting booed on the road, it’s the best feeling.
“I wasn’t [surprised]. It was a close game the whole time. The crowd was into the game, so it was a lot of fun.”
Wright found the fans’ reaction funny, saying of O’Brien: “I feel bad for the guy, but I don’t feel bad for the guy. I wish I would’ve gotten another crack at it. That’s the passion I’m talking about with the fans.”
After Wright drew a walk in the first inning, he chatted with O’Brien at first base. The Marlins infielder has followed Wright’s career but had never met him until Saturday night.
“He seems like a great dude,” said O’Brien, who ended Wright’s final game 1-for-4 with a walk before being replaced by pinch-runner Magneuris Sierra. “Obviously he’s had a great career, very well respected around the game. I’ve watched him play a lot. Great guy, I just kind of said hey what’s up and congrats on everything he’s done and accomplished.”
It seems likely Mets fans won’t forget about O’Brien. But he insisted he won’t mind hearing boos when he comes to Citi Field.
“I’m all right with that,” O’Brien said. “We play a lot of games against these guys. I’m hated here, I’m OK with that.”