Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper took a pitch to the face on Wednesday, then responded in a classy way by reaching out to Genesis Cabrera.
It takes a big person to respond to getting hit in the face with utter class. Bryce Harper proved he’s one on Thursday.
On Wednesday, while the Philadelphia Phillies faced the St. Louis Cardinals, pitcher Genesis Cabrera sent a 97 mph fastball careening towards Harper’s face. The pitch struck him in the cheek, knocking him to the ground and out of the game.
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt revealed how Harper handled the aftermath of the hit in the classiest of ways.
He actually texted Cabrera to offer his support.
Mike Shildt offered a ton of praise for Bryce Harper after revealing Harper sent a text message to Cabrera, offering to talk if Cabby needed. Called Harper a "class act."
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) April 29, 2021
Shildt says Bryce Harper texted Génesis Cabrera, “whoever is a fan of Bryce Harper or has children who are a fan of Bryce Harper, support that guy.” Said Harper offered to talk it through with Cabrera to make him feel OK about how the whole thing went.
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) April 29, 2021
Fortunately for everyone involved, the damage to Harper was relatively minimal, given the circumstances. He gave an update on Instagram, reassuring fans that his “face is still there” after the scary hit.
"Face is still there. We're all good."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 29, 2021
Bryce Harper says "everything came back good" after taking a 97 mph fastball to the face.
(via @bryceharper3) pic.twitter.com/SYJdxb5m5H
Wild pitches from Genesis Cabrera caused drama with the Phillies
Phillies manager Joe Girardi got ejected for an outburst after Cabrera lost control of another pitch and struck Didi Gregorius with a 94 mph fastball to the back.
The pitcher clearly didn’t have his stuff and was removed from the mound shortly after giving up the go-ahead run. Good on Harper for taking the time to make sure he was okay as well.
The Phillies won Wednesday’s game 5-3 to take a 2-1 lead in the series, but the Cardinals evened it up with a 4-3 win on Thursday. That game wasn’t without drama as Hector Neris hit Nolan Arenado with a pitch, which may or may not have been on purpose.
Philadelphia will move on to face the New York Mets next, while St. Louis will travel to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hopefully, both sides have had enough with batters being hit by pitches.