Bryce Harper | Larry Brown Sports

Bryce Harper on Atlanta Braves fans: ‘I love when they go crazy and boo me’

August 19, 2013 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper is the type of player who lives for drama. He has a temper that has been well-documented and makes it obvious that he can’t stand losing. The 20-year-old outfielder also feeds off the hatred he receives from opposing fans, and he has been fed a lot of it by Atlanta Braves supporters this season.

Harper has been hit by pitches against the Braves three times this season. Earlier this month, he was plunked after admiring his home run and flipping his bat. Then on Friday, Atlanta fans cheered when Harper was hit two more times. He loved every second of it.

“I love these fans. I really do,” Harper said Sunday, per Dan Kolko of MASN Sports. “These people are absolutely unbelievable for their team. If I was playing for a team like this and had a crowd like that, I’d be stoked to play here every night, too. I love playing at Nats Park. We have a great crowd, too. Going to Philly. Going here. Fenway. New York. There are so many great crowds.

“I love when the crowd goes crazy and they boo me. I live for that situation. I think a lot of guys do. Just like the old commercials, ‘We live for this.’ Live for the booing, and (when) they’re going crazy, it makes me a better player.”

Harper could not have loved the Braves taking two out of three from his Nationals, but he heard plenty of boos every time he strolled to the plate. He also had a brief exchange with third base umpire Marvin Hudson when he was called out on a 1-2 check swing to end the game. Harper said he didn’t like the call, but wouldn’t elaborate much further.

“I just told him how good he was and how good he looked,” he joked.

If a rivalry is budding between the Braves and Nationals, there is no better person to play the role of villain than Bryce Harper.

H/T Hardball Talk

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Atlanta Braves fans, Bryce Harper

Julio Teheran hits Bryce Harper after home run, benches clear (Video)

August 6, 2013 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

Julio Teheran sparked a benches-clearing incident in the fifth inning of the Washington Nationals-Atlanta Braves game on Tuesday when he (intentionally) hit Bryce Harper in the thigh with a pitch.

Harper took Teheran deep to center for a solo home run in the third to give the Nats a 1-0 lead. After the homer, Harper held onto his bat, took about four slow steps up the line as he watched his deep blast, and then gave a bat toss. He didn’t egregiously pimp or celebrate his home run, but he definitely admired his shot. He also took 23.66 seconds to make his way around the bases, which marks his longest career home run trot, per TaterTrotTracker. That didn’t sit well with Teheran.

In the fifth, the Nats had a man on second and one out when Teheran dosed Harper in the leg. Harper was fuming after getting hit, and he immediately pointed and yelled at the Braves pitcher to tell him that was a b.s. move. The benches cleared and the relievers left the bullpen and made their way to the infield, though nothing happened aside from words being exchanged.

Teheran said after the game that he missed inside with the pitch, while Harper thought it was intentional. Harper also acknowledged that getting hit is a consequence for admiring a monster home run.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Bryce Harper, Julio Teheran

Redskins struggle to identify Bryce Harper; Alfred Morris thought he was Tom Brady

July 31, 2013 By Steve DelVecchio 1 Comment

Assuming many Washington Redskins fans are also supporters of the Washington Nationals, it’s probably safe to assume that many — if not most — of them would be able to identify Bryce Harper. The 20-year-old outfielder is the future of the Nationals franchise and one of the best young players in the game, but many of the Redskins players have apparently ignored his Under Armour ads.

According to Kevin Jones of WUSA 9, several Redskins players were unable to identify Harper when shown a picture of him (without his uniform on, of course) during training camp recently. Guys like running back Roy Helu, linebacker Rob Jackson, receivers Aldrick Robinson, Devery Henderson, Leonard Hankerson and others literally had no idea who Harper was. But running back Alfred Morris had the funniest reaction.

“Is that Tom Brady?” Morris asked when shown the picture.

The hair may be similar, but there’s no way an NFL player would not know that a person he was looking at isn’t Brady, right?

Linebacker Brandon Jenkins, who was close to being able to identify Harper, also had an entertaining response.

“Oh that’s the dude that was in the home run derby!” he said. “What’s his name?”

Some of the Redskins, including Pierre Garcon, Logan Paulsen and Jarvis Jenkins, were up on their local baseball knowledge and knew it was Bryce. The others must just be focusing harder on football. Yeah, we’ll go with that.

H/T Dan Steinberg

Filed Under: Baseball, Football Tagged With: Alfred Morris, Bryce Harper, Washington Redskins

Pete Rose: Bryce Harper plays recklessly

July 29, 2013 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

Bryce Harper has yet to play two full seasons with the Washington Nationals, but he has already been injured several times. While it’s too early to say that Harper is injury prone, it’s obvious his style of play leaves him susceptible to twists and collisions that other players might not have to worry about.

It would be ridiculous to criticize Harper for going all-out in the field, but Pete Rose believes there is a fine line between playing hard and leaving yourself vulnerable. Rose talked about that during a recent interview with SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio.

“Here’s Bryce’s problem, okay?” Rose said, via Dan Steinberg of DC Sports Bog. “Bryce growing up, I was his dad’s favorite player. I mean, that’s a fact. And there’s a difference in playing hard and playing recklessly. And Bryce plays recklessly.

“And there’s a reason for that. He was a catcher when he was here [in Las Vegas]. Now all of a sudden they’ve got him in the outfield, and he don’t understand warning tracks, and he don’t understand every [ballpark] the caroms are different, the walls are different. Some are padded, some aren’t. You can’t turn around and run into the wall at Dodger Stadium face first.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Bryce Harper, Pete Rose

Bryce Harper hits home run in first at-bat back from DL (Video)

July 1, 2013 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

Welcome back, Bryce Harper.

The Washington Nationals phenom returned to the team’s lineup on Monday for the first time since May 26. In his first at-bat, he took the second pitch from Milwaukee Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo deep to right-center field. The home run was Harper’s 13th of the season and first since May 22. It gave him 24 RBIs on the season.

Harper was placed on the disabled list on May 27 with left knee bursitis. He went 4-for-11 in four rehab games and looks like he hasn’t lost anything. Prior to missing the five weeks because of his knee, Harper had hit 12 home runs in 44 games and looked like he could challenge Mike Trout for having the best 20-year-old season in MLB history. Trout missed the first month of the season last year because of a late callup, so the competition may now be even.

Harper’s presence in the lineup may have also given his teammates confidence; they scored five runs off Gallardo in the third. Harper even answered the fans’ request for a curtain call:

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Bryce Harper

Baller status: Bryce Harper buys girlfriend dress for date

June 14, 2013 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

You know how you can tell when you’ve reached baller status? When you’re buying your lady a dress to wear for an individual date.

Bryce Harper’s girlfriend, Kayla Varner, tweeted the above tri-pane photo on Friday. Varner said in her tweet that Harper surprised her with flowers and a dress for a hot date.

Pretty sweet, huh? Varner quickly became the envy of her friends, and Harper looked smooth for pulling off the Richard Gere move.

Harper and Varner have known each other since at least high school in Nevada, where they were both standout athletes. Varner just completed her sophomore season as a soccer player at BYU.

Because he pulled off such a pimp move, we’ll give Bryce a break for his Jimmy Neutron-looking hair. He also made that selfie on the bottom left his Twitter avatar.

Nice-looking couple, right? Good for them. Yes, and I totally realize I am sitting here on a Friday night commenting on a date Bryce Harper and his girlfriend are going to have. Gotta love it.

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Bryce Harper, Kayla Varner

Bryce Harper admits he’s afraid of crashing into wall again

May 22, 2013 By Steve DelVecchio 1 Comment

Gregor Blanco came up with a timely hit for the San Francisco Giants to tie the game in the ninth against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night, but he may have gotten a little help from Bryce Harper. Blanco’s RBI triple tied the game at 2-2 and the Giants went on to win in extra innings. As you can see from the video above, it looked like Harper had a chance to make a play on the ball but shied away.

If you remember, Harper crashed face-first into the outfield wall last week while trying to make a play and was left bleeding from the face and chin. He took full responsibility for the loss to the Giants on Tuesday night and essentially admitted last week’s collision has made him skittish.

“I don’t want to hit the frickin’ wall full-on,” Harper said, via the Washington Post. “Of course that crosses your mind after you jam into a wall. It doesn’t really feel very good. It [stinks] that I couldn’t make the play. I totally put that loss on me.”

Harper was nowhere near the wall when the ball sailed over his head. It appeared he pulled his arm down before he even felt the warning track under his feet. He later told the Post’s Adam Kilgore that slamming into the wall was on his mind and is “something I got to get over.”

Can you blame him? Say what you will about Harper, but you would be hard pressed to find someone who questions his passion for the game and the effort he puts forth on a nightly basis. Between crashing into the wall and missing a couple of games with a nasty ingrown toenail, it’s simply human nature that Harper has begun consciously thinking about his health while on the field.

H/T Big League Stew

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Bryce Harper