Dusty Baker: I might have to ‘spank’ Bryce Harper sometimes
Dusty Baker is an old-school manager, and he apparently isn’t afraid to resort to some old-school parenting styles with his players if he has to.
On Tuesday, Baker was asked about Bryce Harper’s outburst during and after Monday night’s game, in which Harper was ejected for arguing a called third strike on a teammate in the 9th inning and later returned to the field to hurl an F-bomb at the umpire. How is Dusty going to handle it? He’s not afraid to warm some butts.
Dusty said he doesn't mind Harper's emotion: "I happen to like the young man…Will I have to spank him sometimes? Maybe."
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) May 10, 2016
Harper felt umpire Brian Knight was singling him out when several Nationals players were complaining, so he decided to scream a curse word at Knight while celebrating Washington’s walk-off win. You can see the video here.
Harper expressed no remorse after the game, and it would not be surprising if Baker sided with him in this situation. But let this be a warning to Harper and all other Nationals players — if you step out of line, Old Man Dusty isn’t afraid to bend you over his knee.