Nats outfielder Bryce Harper was left bloodied and with a cut above his left eye after smashing a bat against a wall in frustration on Friday night.
Harper, who went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in a win over the Reds, smashed his bat in frustration after making an out in the seventh. The bat apparently bounced off the wall in the tunnel and hit him in the face, leaving him with a nasty cut above his left eye.
Harper needed 10 stitches to close the cut. He was bandaged and continued to play in the game, though he was replaced by Xavier Nady in the 9th.
“It doesn’t hurt at all,” Harper said after the game. “I feel fine. I didn’t get light-headed at all or nothing. I feel good.”
Manger Davey Johnson said Harper could miss one or two games, but according to The Washington Post, Harper insisted he wanted to play.
“I think I’m good,” Harper said. “The doctor said I could play, so I’m going to play.”
Johnson defended his rookie saying that breaking a bat in frustration is nothing new for a ballplayer. At least it wasn’t a fire extinguisher.
Here’s another look at the bloody Harper, and an image of him batting with it bandaged:
