Bryce Harper gets ejected in 9th, curses at ump after walk-off win
A big part of Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper’s never-ending quest to “Make Baseball Fun Again” entails players being able to show their emotions on the field. While the occasional bat-flip or celebratory fist-pump after a big play is fine, Harper may have taken things a bit too far Monday.
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In the bottom of the ninth inning, Harper was ejected by home plate umpire Brian Knight after Danny Espinosa struck out looking to start off the frame. Harper wasn’t the on-deck hitter, or even anywhere near Knight. He was tossed from the dugout. Knight must have heard something he didn’t like from the direction, and decided Harper needed to go.
Harper seemed pretty shocked that he was tossed from the contest, yelling to Knight that he didn’t say anything. Harper attempted to come out of the dugout and argue with the call, but was held back by coaches.
Harper may have started down the dugout hallway to the clubhouse, but he didn’t get far. Two pitches later, Clint Robinson clubbed a walk-off home run to give the Nationals the 5-4 win.
Since Harper had yet to make his way to the clubhouse, he ran out on the field to take part in the celebration. At this moment, he turned to Knight, pointed and him and appeared to yell an expletive at the ump.
We don’t claim to be lip readers here, but it doesn’t seem hard to guess what Harper is saying.
While we can understand emotions running high in a moment like that, Harper probably needs to be a bit more restrained. There are cameras watching his every move, and it’s hard not to expect him to receive a hefty fine for his conduct here, unless he has a good excuse for pointing and swearing at the ump.
Or maybe not. Players get tossed for swearing all the time and rarely receive fines unless they make contact with the umpire. Harper didn’t do that, so even though his conduct here wasn’t great, there’s an argument that it’s no worse than what most hitters do to earn ejections.
Following the game, Harper didn’t seem too apologetic about his actions.
Harper, on the words cameras caught him yelling: “Let him hear what I had to say. Let him hear it again. So what.”
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) May 10, 2016
It’s tough to defend Harper here. He can be mad about getting ejected, especially if he didn’t do anything, but his team just won the game. He would probably be better served celebrating with them instead of gloating at the umpire.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
