Cole Hamels Definitely Old School

When Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels drilled Washington Nationals rookie Bryce Harper in the back with a fastball the other day he forgot what decade he was living in. Once upon a time veterans like Hamels may have purposely hit heralded newcomers to the bigs with a pitch as a not-so-subtle way to say hello. But that went out of style by the 1970s.

I’m not sure very much harm was done, and Hamels made some news fans. Of course, those fellas now rooting for him were doing so from parts unknown, presuming they advanced to somewhere else following their burials. I can hear Early Wynn, Warren Spahn and Ty Cobb yelling “Go For It!” to Hamels.

But as I said,the gratuitous plunking has become extinct. Major League Baseball was plain old shocked by the play and promptly suspended Hamels for five games (to ensure he misses a start), and plinked him with a fine.

Clearly, Hamels didn’t intend to hurt the 19-year-old, who rushed through school so quickly in order to jump-start his pro career that he doesn’t even have very many old schools, never mind recognize that Hamels was performing an old school act. Am I overly offended? Nah. Was it kind of stupid? Yeah. Because Hamels knew no good could come out of his action. He had to know that he was going to be penalized.

He admitted hitting the young phenom intentially, so there was no pleading the fifth amendment, no hiring of a defense attorney in order to be his mouthpiece as he denied doing what he did. Hamels threw at Harper, admitted throwing at Harper, and said it was a Welcome-to-the-Majors, sonny, pitch.

What Hamels did was ignite a feud with Washington that will last. Not that I envision Stephen Strasburg firing at Hamels the next time he comes up against him because he knows he will also be suspended. But if there are other, subtle ways for the Nationals to take out their frustration on the Phillies, they will do it.

This will not pass without some payback. The Nationals might be happy that the powers that be slapped a punishment on Hamels, but they won’t be completely satisfied until they extract their own pound of flesh in some way. That could be sliding hard into second and catching a Phillies’ middle infielder unsuspecting.  That could be slapping a very hard tag on Hamels if he so happens to get on base.

The Nationals will take their cue from their own front office. General manager Mike Rizzo called Hamels’ pitch “classless” and “gutless.” It used to just be part of the game and in the days of yesteryear when a batter got hit by a pitch his first thought wasn’t rushing the mound, but plotting revenge for later.

If I were a member of the Nationals I would make a habit of watching that TV show “Revenge.” The entire premise revolves around getting revenge without the other party even knowing who put them in a fix. That kind of revenge takes patience and cunning.

We’ll see what Washington brews up and we’ll see how Hamels takes it. Or you could even say that Harper stealing home on Hamels soon after was a snazzy, snappy, retort.

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