Nationals’ top prospect Bryce Harper was ejected from last night’s Double-A contest against the Richmond Flying Squirrels for arguing balls and strikes with umpire Max Guyll.
Emotion finally bested the phenom in the 7th inning of last night’s game. After receiving a called third strike from an umpire who apparently had a very generous strike zone all evening, Harper immediately slammed his batting helmet to ground in frustration.
This action earned him his first ejection at the Double-A level, but Harper wasn’t finished there. The 18 year old got in Guyll’s face and indicated where he believed the pitch had not crossed the plate by dragging his foot well beyond the outside corner. Harper continued his heated, seemingly one-sided debate with the ump before exiting the field.
Harrisburg Senator’s manager Tony Beasley followed Harper’s performance by initiating his own removal from the game. While the skipper didn’t appreciate Harper taking out his aggression on his batting helmet, he did agree that the strike zone had been an issue the entire night.
"“There were a couple of pitches I just thought were off the plate,” Beasley said. “I mentioned that to [Guyll] earlier in passing. But the pitch on Harper I just disagreed with, and obviously Harper did, too. Surkamp is tough enough when you’re keeping him in the zone. I just disagreed with the call and things just escalated a bit.”"
Harper entered the year rated by many as the top prospect in all of baseball. After getting off to a hot start in High-A, he’s already received his promotion to Double-A as a teenager.
But things haven’t gone as smoothly for Harper at the next level. While last night’s stretched strike zone was certainly cause for agitation, Harper may have escalated his frustration by thinking about the meager .691 OPS he’s put up over 31 Double-A games.
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