Bryce Harper was ejected in the bottom of the third inning Thursday night after going absolutely nuts on infamous umpire Angel Hernandez, when Hernandez blew a call.
If the appeals to third base were measured in the check swing, it might have been one of the worst in major league history.
There is no sure way for the third or first base umpire to determine whether a player has swung. It is mostly based on purpose. Sometimes it is based on whether a player’s bat crosses the plate. Regardless of the definition, a 3-2 slider from Pirates right-hander Luis Ortiz didn’t deliver on Harper’s pitch.
“It’s worse everywhere,” he said. “I grinded in an at-bat against a guy I’d never faced before. I reached a 3-2 count and took a slider down-inside. I didn’t go overboard and didn’t even think about it. In that situation, I picked up my stuff and listened to the crowd’s reaction, like there was no way. I was
“Angel in the middle of something again. It’s every year, same story, same thing. I’m going to get a letter from (MLB’s VP of On-Field Operations) Michael Hill and I’m going to be fined. To be fair, again. Same thing over and over again. It’s not right. .”
Harper was furious after the call. He walked up the third-base line, gesturing and yelling at Hernandez, appearing to say, “That’s bull—-” and “That’s too (expletive) weak.”
Harper loudly left the field and threw his helmet into the stands. A young kid finished it and wore the rest of the game.
“I could have hit a homer or done something different in the game and made their night,” he said.
Maybe that was Harper’s reaction to Hernandez. Hernandez was known for his missed calls and quick hook, and he was universally disliked by players, managers, coaches and fans alike. Everything is measured these days And the data agree with the eye test Most of them.
It was Harper’s fourth ejection this season. He was thrown out by home plate umpire Alex Dosi in St. Louis two weeks ago, when Dosi’s bad strike-two call led to Harbor Kay. Back in June he was ejected for arguing a check swing call. In mid-May, Rockies reliever Jake Bird was given the start after he mocked the Phillies’ dugout, and the resulting altercation led to the destruction of both benches.
“I don’t want to get kicked out of a game,” Harper said. “It’s our last home game of the regular season. Not all of these guys can afford tickets to a regular season game, it’s a really hard ticket to get. Not to get out of a game like this. Funny. They might see me for the last time this year. I don’t like that, I don’t like putting fans in that situation. , I was thrown out in the third inning. It was a disaster for everybody.”
Harper plays with as much gusto as any of the adults. Thursday’s matchup between the Phillies and the Pirates is absolutely nothing in the standings, but when Harper is between the lines, he’s a different person.
“Everybody doesn’t talk a lot about these sports, but they have a winning mentality for every state, every game,” he said. “All these at-bats are important. We can’t play forever and it’s not good to take one away from you.”
Harper walked in his first plate appearance. He is hitting .295/.402/.502 on the season. Despite going a career-high 166 plate appearances without a home run at the start of the summer, his numbers are in line with where they’ve been as a Philly overall.
He should get more time when the Phillies close out their season against the Mets this weekend at Citi Field. Thompson has been resting his starters every day, and the Bills have already secured their spot as the top wild card. Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas had Thursday night off.
“I understand you have to live up to a certain big-league mentality,” Harper said, “but at the same time, when a bad call comes in, I think it’s a mistake. It’s a bad situation. I’m going to get in trouble, and that’s it.” I don’t think that’s right.”
