Bryce Harper is one of the best players in baseball. He’s probably the front runner for National League MVP. However, he hurts his team when he gets ejected, and Nationals manager Matt Williams wants that to come to an end.
In the 11th inning of a tie game on Friday, Harper was called out on a third strike on the outside corner of the plate. The pitch looked like a strike on TV, and home plate umpire Jerry Meals obviously felt it was. Harper, on the other hand, did not agree. He immediately got in Meals’ face and began jawing with the veteran umpire. The young outfielder was subsequently ejected, much to the delight of Mets fans at Citi Field.
After the game, Williams stressed the importance of Harper staying in ballgames.
“He needs to stay in the baseball game,” Williams repeated three times, according to MASN Sports.
“I want him to stay in every game,” Williams said. “We’ve talked about it. We’ll talk about it again.”
Harper’s ejection was his third of the season (remember this blowup from May?). While his passion and fire are part of who he is, there comes a time where it could be a detriment to the team.
On Friday, Harper’s ejection left Washington with just one bench player for the remainder of the game. The result was Williams having to shift players around defensively, and Dan Uggla ended up playing first base for the first time in his career. In a tie game against a team that’s right behind you in the standings, that’s obviously not ideal.
There’s little to question when it comes to Harper’s ability. If Williams and the rest of the Nationals can get through to him about keeping his emotions under control, Harper will be to use that ability to help the team win more games.
