The Cubs have decided to pitch to Bryce Harper
The Chicago Cubs made a bold choice Monday. After much consideration, the team decided to pitch to Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper.
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be news, but consider how Chicago treated Harper the last time the two clubs played. During the four-game series in Chicago, Harper walked an incredible 13 times. It wasn’t just his strong batting eye, either, the Cubs clearly came in with a plan. When Harper wasn’t intentionally walked, it was pretty clear their pitchers had no intention of giving the 23-year-old anything to hit.
The Cubs insistence to not let Harper beat them led to some odd results. Yes, Harper broke a record by reaching base seven times without receiving an actual at-bat, but his teammates, particularly Ryan Zimmerman, couldn’t make the Cubs pay for putting Harper on base. Overall, the strategy was a pretty big success.
This time around, Daniel Murphy is batting behind Harper, making it difficult for the Cubs to enact the same strategy. That doesn’t mean they have no strategy at all for beating the reigning National League MVP, though.
That matchup, Harper vs. Cubs pitching, will be the focus of Yahoo Sports Free MLB Game of the Day on Tuesday. Harper and the Nationals will take on John Lackey and the Cubs. The game, which takes place at 7:05 p.m. ET, can be streamed on Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home. Local blackout restrictions apply.
With the Cubs now unable to walk Harper each time up, the team had to invent a new strategy when he comes to the plate. A quick look at MLB.com’s Gameday pitch tracking will reveal that strategy pretty quickly.
The above picture shows where each pitch was thrown during Harper’s first four plate appearances from Monday’s game. Aside from one pitch in his fourth at-bat, it certainly looks like the Cubs are trying to keep the ball as far away from Harper as possible.
There are some pitches that look to be closer to the middle of the plate, but we’re going to assume the pitcher missed on those plays. It seems safe to say that considering every other pitch was away from Harper, and it would be monumentally stupid to intentionally throw pitches to Harper down the middle of the plate.
The idea makes sense, too. Harper is only batting .255 this season, but his .408 on-base percentage ranks ninth and his .503 slugging percentage still proves he can destroy a mistake. He’s clearly dangerous, and that’s led to teams not giving him much to hit. If his low batting average is a result of Harper getting frustrated and swinging at pitches on the corners more often, teams will gladly risk walking him occasionally.
It’s worth noting Harper received a fifth at-bat during the contest, the Gameday from that at-bat was similar, but four pictures looked prettier than five, so it wasn’t included above.
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The new strategy seemed to work in Game 1. Harper finished 1-for-5 with a single, but didn’t do any major damage. A run did score on Harper’s single, but it was due to an error in the field.
Considering the early success, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Cubs manager Joe Maddon employ the same strategy again. Harper is undoubtedly one of the best, and most dangerous, hitters in the league, and is no stranger to making adjustments. We’re about to find out just how quickly he can adapt to how he’s being pitched.
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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
