Bryce Harper doesn’t want Dee Gordon’s 2015 batting championship
Like everyone else, Washington Nationals superstar Bryce Harper had a few thoughts about Dee Gordon’s 80-game suspension stemming from a positive test for two banned drugs, exogenous Testosterone and Clostebol.
Speaking to the media before Friday’s game in St. Louis, Harper expressed surprise and disappointment in Gordon, whom he also cited as one of the most exciting players to watch and play against.
[Passan: The sad case of Dee Gordon, another unlikely PED user for MLB]
“It’s definitely a disappointment,” Harper said. “He’s one of the best second basemen in the game, a big talent, a lot of fun to watch. It’s just disappointment, something you don’t want to see. Not good for the sport, not good for baseball. But he’s still one of the best players in the game and I’ve still got a lot of respect for him. But it’s definitely something that’s just tough.”
Nothing out of the ordinary or too controversial there. The general consensus has been along those very same lines, so Harper just followed suit.
The media had another question on its mind though. They were curious whether Harper feels slighted now after losing last season’s NL batting championship to Gordon by a mere three points. The obvious inclination being that the outcome may have been manipulated if Gordon had one or both banned drugs in his system at any point last season.
To that question, Harper responded by placing more blame on himself, essentially saying he did more to lose the batting crown than anyone else did to win it.
“I lost the batting title. I lost it completely,” Harper said. “I was hitting like .345 with three weeks left or so. I completely lost it. It was nothing to do with that. You’ve still got to hit the baseball. You’ve still got to perform. And he did that. I completely lost the batting title last year, so that’s all behind us.”
It’s a noble stance, though it probably won’t keep people from rewriting the history book in their own minds.
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Harper also understands there’s nothing really to be gained by crying foul or claiming the batting championship as his own. What’s done is done, and what matters now is what’s happening now. Gordon is being punished, though some obviously question just how much based on how little salary he’ll be forfeiting. Nonetheless he’s out of the Marlins picture until late July, and that undoubtedly hurts his team.
As for Harper’s stance, he’ll have several chances to rewrite history before he’s done. That includes winning a batting title and many other milestones we’re sure that are among his goals. This just means he’ll be all the more focused on finishing strong and reaching those goals on his own terms.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
