Alex Rodriguez says that Bryce Harper is “pissing off” a lot of people over his lack of hustle.
A-Rod joined “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” on Monday and talked about Harper, who is in the spotlight this week because his Washington Nationals are hosting the All-Star Game and festivities. Harper is a big topic of conversation due to his status as an upcoming free agent.
Rodriguez told Cowherd that Harper is hurting his free agent value with his hustle issues and low batting average this season.
"He's dug himself a big hole statistically and reputation. It'll be very interesting to see what happens to Bryce Harper in the 2nd half." — @AROD pic.twitter.com/rWPXRqbA2o
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 16, 2018
“You know ironically, it’s been a very tough first half for Bryce Harper. Two reasons, number one, you mentioned the .214 batting average, but I can get over that because he’s a world-class athlete. But he’s taken enormous, enormous heat inside the game, with his reputation. And what I mean by that is, he is pissing off so many people with not running to first base and they keep showing these replays over and over. And yes, he’s done it like that for eight years and is that the Washington Nationals fault just as much as his? Perhaps,” said Rodriguez.
“But here’s the problem, and I’ve been here twice, when you’re a free-agent and people are talking about 300, 400, 500 million dollars for one player and you’re not running down first base, everything is highlighted on a year like this year. So that’s something to watch. He’s dug himself a big hole statistically and (with his) reputation…”
Harper’s hustle issue arose again on Friday after he failed to run out a ground ball that resulted in a double play. He had similar problems in 2014, which even led to him being benched by the Nats’ manager at the time.
The down season has led to questions about Harper’s future, but he still has a half-season to turn things around and remind everyone why he’s worthy of a mega contract. His comments on Monday should be enough to make Nats fans worry though.
