Orlando Hudson lashes out at Padres fans for booing the team

A fan on Friar Nation saw Orlando Hudson yesterday morning on TV and carefully transcribed his words.  Hudson criticized Padres fans because of the booing the team received after being shut out for the 7th time:

"...well that's the reason why they're fans, they can't play, they can't play at this level, some have tried and got cut at the HS level or whatever. We're the ones that are blessed enough and got talent enough to make it to the big leagues...."

Fox 5 morning host Raul substantiates the quote by tweeting Hudson's comments as well.

He also said something similar to 619Sports.net at the beginning of this video:

So if we can read into Hudson's statement, it's because of the fan's own failures, jealousies and insecurities that they boo the Padres.  He takes no responsibility nor does he accept the booing as a result of their own poor performance on the field.

Hudson tweeted yesterday this similar but less offensive message:

 

Padres players aren't supposed to insult their own fans either.

You can hear the booing in this MLB Video Recap of 4/27's game.  The booing starts after Hawpe's error and continues when he grounds into a double play later in the game.

I personally don't boo or heckle, it's not my thing.  I eye roll and sigh a lot to show my frustration.  But some fans feel booing is their only way to voice their displeasure and that's somewhat understandable. Of those fans that heckle some are seriously butt holes too.  They don't speak for all of us.  It may not be right, but it's their right.

If you look through Hudson's Twitter time line there are number of tweets where he admirably defends Brad Hawpe and Ryan Ludwick who have started off the season in severe slumps.  Much as he defends his teammates, I feel the same need to defend my fellow fans who are being criticized by Hudson in his tweets. 

We can be critical of the team because of the results of their poor play without it being about our own failed baseball careers.  I never had any baseball aspirations, never even played little league and I'm still a fan.  It has less to do with us than he thinks, and more to do with him and the team.

Baseball players have no problem accepting the cheers and accolades when they play well, they should also accept the boos and criticism when they perform poorly, it's the reality of their job.

Let's look through some of his tweets after the jump:

 

I have no idea what that tweet means.

 

 

Here's Hawpe's stats:

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He sure spends a lot of time tweeting about booing for someone who isn't bothered by booing.

And now we come to his response to every bit of criticism that he or the team receives.  He condescendingly calls them "lil buddy" and tells them that they should try to play Major League baseball and see how they perform, which is not the point at all.  Just because they're better than us, doesn't make them better than the rest of the MLB players.  The Padres are the ones that need to improve, they're the ones employed as baseball players, they are the ones chosen to represent us, we are the fans. 

It'd be like telling him, "You should give up your high salary, spend all of your discretionary income on tickets, watch 3 hours of baseball every night as the team gets shut out continually and see if you can be a better fan than us."

 

I just hope the Padres can just start winning.  I'm rooting for them to win so booing won't even be an issue.  I'm also hoping that I don't find a tweet from him in my inbox calling me "lil buddy' after he reads this post.