Padres troll Bryce Harper with hilarious scoreboard stunt vs Phillies

The Padres got one clean shot in on Bryce Harper this week. Unfortunately, it was one of the only clean swings they could muster in a series that saw the Phillies come in and leave with a sweep.  During San Diego’s series at Petco Park, the in-game entertainment crew decided to have a little fun with Harper’s now-viral toothpaste routine.

As Jomboy Media highlighted, the Padres put a “Bryce Harper fact” on the jumbotron saying that Harper squirts toothpaste directly into his mouth instead of putting it onto his toothbrush when brushing his teeth.

Umm, Gross? Maybe. But there’s a bigger problem: the Padres scoreboard operator was more successful spending the first half of the week trolling Harper while the Phillies spent their time sweeping them.

Still a great joke, but stings a little. Petco Park landed the punchline, with the Padres’ offense barely landed anything at all. San Diego lost by scores of 3-0, 4-3 and 2-0, managing just three runs in three games.

Padres’ Bryce Harper troll was funny, but their series was not

This doesn’t mean that teams should only have fun when they're winning. That would be miserable over 81 home games. Ballparks need personality. Petco Park should absolutely be allowed to needle opposing stars. Harper is a superstar, a former MVP and a professional villain in basically every road ballpark he enters. We’re sure he could handle the joke.

This was some solid stadium trolling. Super specific and harmless. It played off a bizarre internet moment and gave Padres fans something to laugh about during a series that gave them very little else.

The trouble is that Philadelphia kept answering with actual baseball. Harper homered in the series, then presumably went home and poured toothpaste directly into his mouth. J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner homered. How they use toothpaste remains unknown.

But the Phillies won the games, and got the last laugh. 

That is the thin line with scoreboard trolling. When the home team wins, the bit becomes part of the celebration. When the home team gets swept, the bit becomes free ammunition for the other fan base.

Phillies fans didn’t need a complicated response. They had the easiest one sitting right there: worry less about Harper’s toothbrush and more about scoring runs…fair enough.

The Padres’ offense gave them no room to hide. They were shut out twice. And their only real push came in the 4-3 loss, when Manny Machado and Ramón Laureano helped turn an early deficit into something interesting before they still came up short. 

So, that brings us to the part the Padres cannot meme its way around. Three runs in three games is a series-defining failure. It’s especially rough when it happens at home.

Keep the scoreboard jokes coming. Seriously. Baseball is better when teams are willing to be petty. But the Padres cannot let the scoreboard operator be the most effective part of the homestand.

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