Ump show: Bryce Harper ejected in the first inning for absolutely nothing

Bryce Harper certainly didn't get off to the best start on Friday night as the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies made the trip up to altitude at Coors Field for a matchup with the ailing Colorado Rockies. In his first at-bat of the night, he ended the first inning for the Phils with a swinging strikeout against Ty Blach.

That's never how any player, especially a superstar like Harper, wants to begin a game. And to be sure, he was unhappy about the strikeout, chucking his helmet after the fact. However, after getting that initial burst of frustration out, he stood in the batter's box and appeared to be having a calm conversation with home-plate umpire Brian Walsh.

Then, all of a sudden, Walsh gave Harper the hook, ejecting the Phillies star from the game after just one at-bat and after seemingly nothing of consequence happened. And naturally, Harper and Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson were none too pleased about what transpired.

Bryce Harper gets ejected in first inning for doing next to nothing

Perhaps the wildest part of the clip above is that fans watching live didn't even know that Harper was ejected until the broadcast returned from the mid-inning commercial break. That's how much of a nothing-burger Harper's frustration appeared to be in the moment -- the broadcast didn't think it deserved any extra attention.

But at the Ump Show, you always have to be ready for something truly awful to be called. This is the lesson in that.

According to the broadcast, Harper was upset about the called strike two during the at-bat, which then forced his hand on the third pitch, the one he swung and missed on to end the inning. Even then, though, we know what he looks like when he blows a gasket, and his demeanor was exponentially far from that from what we can see on video when he's standing in the box talking.

Complaining about umpires is nothing new to MLB and the game of baseball. We've heard it constantly for years and years. However, it's felt much more acutely worse so far in the 2024 season. This isn't the first absurd ejection we've seen -- especially one shockingly early in a game before any bad blood should actually be built up -- and it almost surely won't be the last.

And with Rob Manfred saying that the robot umpires won't be ready by the 2025 season, it might be a headache we have to live with even longer.