Spencer Strider, notorious hater of baseball fans, has a change of heart

Last year, fans ripped into Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider for an interview he gave to MLB Fits where he revealed, as requested, a hot take about the league. His take? That baseball is better when fans are further away.

He told the interviewer that it would be an improvement if fans were pushed into the corners and the upper deck, as far away from the field as possible. Of course, fans didn't like the idea of that take, considering paying for tickets does give fans the right to watch, enjoy, and (within reason) cheer for and against the teams in play, not get squeezed away into the far corners of the stadium.

Then, we learned on Friday that Strider is kind of a liar. He stuck around in the pouring rain after the game they came to see was postponed. So, what's the truth, does this guy hate the fans or not?

Spencer Strider was kidding and loves fans

Last season, the Strider comment blew up and was taken at face value, but plenty speculated that Strider was making a joke, and delivering the comment in a deadpan kind of way was him emulating the great Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld writer Larry David's humor. Strider is known to be a big fan of the sitcom scribe.

Unfortunately, the joke didn't quite land, especially with people uninitiated with the reference. So, no, Strider isn't a hypocrite, and he doesn't hate fans. He, as you can see by him sticking around in cold wet rain, loves fans!

Lesson learned: If you aren't Larry David, you might not be able to pull off his sense of humor.

But if you're Spencer Strider, you can command the attention of Braves fans anywhere you go.