FanHouse Hecklers

Bleacher Bums is MLB FanHouse's look at those oh so fun fan adventures.

From the sounds of things, Frank Thomas was hearing it from the fans at the Rogers Centre last Friday, especially from one guy in particular who stood behind the home team's dugout and harassed him nonstop. From Canada.com:

After Thomas grounded into a double play in his final at-bat, the big, loud man hurled a few more choice words as Thomas trotted, head down, toward the dugout.

Thomas looked up and glared. "F*** you," he said. Then he disappeared down the dugout steps as the heckler and his friends erupted in laughter.

Thomas offered no apology after the game, despite the fact there were children within earshot.

"When they start screaming over the dugout, then you're in my domain," he said. "If you're going to say something wrong, you better be ready for something to be said back to you." ...

Remember the story of how Ken Griffey gave a heckler in Los Angeles his jock strap? Of course you do, it was only yesterday we told you about it. Well, the Cincinnati Post caught up with Griffey to get his side of the story:

"Can't a guy be fan friendly?" Griffey said, laughing about the exchange before Monday's game in San Diego. ...

"Him being a little larger than normal, I asked him if he had to wear a support bra," Griffey said.

That's fan-friendly, alright. (Though, to be fair, any fan who takes it upon himself to heckle a player nonstop is most definitely fair game.) And fortunately, for the sake of those obsessed with cleanliness, it seems it wasn't actually Griffey's jock that he gave away -- he merely went into the visitor's clubhouse and asked for the attendants to find the biggest jock strap they had, which delighted the heckler to no end:

"The funny thing was he took it and started waving it around like a helicopter," Griffey said. "And they showed him on JumboTron."

Even laughing about it later, though, Griffey couldn't resist getting in one last barb:

"I'm sure it would fit him around the waist," Griffey said of the jock strap, which he called the biggest he'd ever seen. "But I'm not sure he could fill out the front."

Zing! The Post also caught up with the heckler, identified as Matt Schafer, over email. For Schafer's entire story and more pictures, check out his MySpace page.

Previously on FanHouse:
This Heckler Actually Can Carry Griffey's Jock
Brian Urlacher's Jock Strap and Cup Available on eBay
Vernon Wells 'Gas Station Ball' Exposed for All to See
Vernon Wells Wants to Yell at You While You're Working

How do you get under the skin of a former All-American? Well, the easiest way is to anoint him your franchise scorer, then demote him in favor of an unknown Argentinian. Or, as a fan, you can heckle him based on the fact that he's one of the few prominent white players in the league. He'll apparently respond to that with an obscene gesture. From The Seattle Times:

Charlotte Bobcats forward Adam Morrison was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for making an obscene gesture to a fan during a game in Miami.

"I've got to learn to take it, I guess, but I think the guy went over the edge a little bit, calling me 'white trash' over and over again," said Morrison, who also sat out Tuesday's game against Miami.

Adam's supposed to be a decent, down-to-earth guy, and he went on to promise it won't happen again. So this is probably just a case of end-of-season frustration, when the entire year starts to sink in. I can't help but wonder, though, how it is that being called "white trash" gets to him so bad. The only thing older than white players getting taunted for their race is black players getting taunted for their race. Maybe it's unusual for a fan to do it, as opposed to another guy on the court. But is Morrison really too young to remember White Men Can't Jump?