Harper: Mets, Braves fans say things that warrant punch to mouth

It appears Bryce Harper isn't fond of the fans in Atlanta and at Citi Field in New York, which could single out the Braves and Mets as destinations the Washington Nationals slugger may avoid when he becomes a free agent after the 2018 season.

On Monday, when asked about his upcoming free agency, Harper made a point of mentioning how rude Braves and Mets fans can be with some poignant remarks.

"Mets fans are kind of rude. Braves fans are kind of rude. Phillies fans ... not as bad," Harper said, according to Randy Miller of NJ.com.

"Those are the (places) you hear the most about family members and things like that where you want to turn around and punch somebody in the mouth because of those reasons."

Even though the remarks appear to irritate the 2015 National League MVP, he attempts to let the rude comments slide off of him so he can focus on helping the Nationals in their pursuit of a division title.

"You control what you hear and what you don't hear," Harper said. "It's like a little room and you try to put your furniture here. I want this chair here. I want this clock up on the wall. I want to listen to this type of music. So you try to do the best you can to not really listen to it. ... I just try lock it in that day as best I can."

Harper will hit third for the NL at Tuesday's All-Star Game in Miami after a great first half where he slashed .325/.431/.590 with 20 home runs and 65 RBIs.