Booing Bryce Harper? Sean Doolittle mistakes Nationals fans' cheers during Home Run Derby

WASHINGTON — Sean Doolittle won’t pitch in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game, but the Washington Nationals reliever, on the disabled list with a toe injury, got a glorious shout-out from his hometown crowd during Monday’s Home Run Derby.

Just one problem: Doolittle thought the Nationals Park crowd of 43,698 was heckling Bryce Harper, rather than showing love to their favorite bearded lefty closer.

Such is life when “Doooo” and “Booooo” sound virtually identical.

“I thought they were booing him,” Doolittle said after Harper’s dramatic victory over the Chicago Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber in the Derby finals. “I was like, ‘You guys gotta be kidding me.’ And then (Harper) kind of pointed at me.

“But I was like, ‘No way, he’s in great shape, what are you guys doing?’ And then he pointed at me.”

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Doolittle was wedged between cheering on Harper and trying to regulate the intensity of teammate Max Scherzer, the Nationals ace who will start Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

Sounds like Scherzer gets just as fired up during glorified batting practice exhibitions than he does when he’s on the mound or firing up a Washington Capitals playoff crowd.

“Max was standing next to me. He’s going nuts,” Doolittle recounted. “He was like, ‘He’s gotta catch five in a row, he’s gotta catch five in a row.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah ... yeah!’ He went on a mini-run, and then popped one up to left and Max was like, ‘It’s OK, It’s OK.”

It certainly was for the Harper fans who waited years for this moment, and for the teammates there to support him.

“He flipped a switch,” says Doolittle. “You could tell he was getting tired. And he went somewhere else. It was unbelievable."

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Gabe Lacques on Twitter @GabeLacques.