The Sports Xchange

Quarterback Andy Dalton, even after four straight years of making the playoffs, has a difficult time getting the support of fans in Cincinnati.

The Bengals starting quarterback was taking part in the Legends and Celebrity Softball Game on Sunday in advance of Tuesday night’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game at the Great American Ball Park.

Dalton, who has made two trips to the Pro Bowl, was booed by fans when introduced and when he took his first at bat.

“I’m not worried about it,” Dalton told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Everybody has got an opinion. It doesn’t really matter. It comes with it. Everybody has their opinion here. There’s a lot of support and that’s all that matters.”

In the softball game, Dalton hit a pair of home runs. The second homer was accompanied by a bat flip while striding toward first base.

“I don’t know, it just felt natural,” a laughing Dalton told the newspaper of the bat flip. “It’s just an instinct to kind of flip it up there.”

Bengals owner Mike Brown has said he is confident in Dalton despite his 0-4 career playoff record with four consecutive first-round exits.

The Bengals have one year left before they can vacate Dalton’s contract without much damage. The six-year, $96 million extension he signed in August easily can become a two-year, $25 million deal without much of a cap hit if the Bengals decide to part ways with Dalton after 2015.