Daaaaaarryl! Daaaaaaarryl! Daaaaaarryl! Ever since the world's most talented athletes began getting paid to play a game there have been swarms of fans flocking to stadiums to tell them how much they suck. Sports hecklers are as much a part of the game as over-priced beer, foam hands and the desire to take off your shirt in public.
Most sports have their fair share of lunatic fans, however, baseball seems to attract the most. It's the intimacy of baseball that really allows the heckler to flourish. A batsmen will be at the plate for for up to a minute or two giving you ample time to criticize them. Take this plate appearance by Evan Longoria for example
The Blue Jays fans' jeers are a perfect example of the clever heckle.
And then there's the not so clever
Whether these jeers have an effect on the outcome of the game cannot be known. Any pro athlete will say they can deal with it but it is impossible for them not to hear it. A deafening crowd has been known to swing momentum in the home team's favour so it is plausible one pest in the crowd could get under an player's skin. Others embrace the heckle like Carlos Lee
All effectiveness aside the heckler adds personality to the game and if done well can be just as entertaining as the competition itself. One of the more famous fans is Tampa Bay Rays "Happy Heckler" Robert Szasz. You can find a mini biography of Szasz here
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