Bryce Harper should not be suspended for recent tirade
It may not have been smart, Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper does not deserve to be suspended for his outburst.
Bryce Harper was kicked out of the Washington Nationals’ game against the Detroit Tigers on Monday night after arguing balls and strikes from the dugout. Harper was one of many Nationals’ players yelling at the umpire after their teammate Danny Espinoza was called out on strikes on a couple of questionable calls.
Harper was picked out from the bunch and kicked out of the game from the dugout by home plate umpire Bryan Knight. In the very next at-bat, pinch-hitter Clint Robinson hit a home run to send the Nationals home as 5-4 winners. The entire team came on to the field to celebrate and cameras caught Harper yelling at Knight.
He clearly pointed straight at the umpire and told him how he felt about him in a not so nice way. The cameras picking this up is obviously not a great look for Harper, but considering it was a heat of the moment event, I figured arguably the best player in the game would get the benefit of the doubt. I guess not.
According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Major League Baseball is facing a fine or a suspension for the incident on Monday night.
#Nationals’ Harper facing fine or suspension for his actions after last night’s game. A player who is ejected is not allowed back on field.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 10, 2016
Baseball will look at totality of Harper’s conduct, including his apparent cursing of umpire Brian Knight after Robinson’s walkoff home run.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 10, 2016
I can see slapping him with a fine, but a suspension? That seems like an awfully hefty punishment. Harper is an extremely aggressive player who plays with his emotions on his sleeve. I understand what he did was not right, but suspending him for saying a couple of curse words seems awfully excessive.
Harper is arguably the best player in all of baseball, and while I am not saying he should get any sort of special attention, the league should not be trying to make an example of him. A majority of fans love seeing the fire and emotion that guys like Harper play with, and I would hate to see him have to reel that back in fear of getting suspended.
Perhaps he did cross the line a bit, but it was the heat of the moment and it is not like anyone got hurt. A simple fine will do. There is no reason to suspend Bryce Harper.
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