After more great moments at this week’s All-Star game, is Washington Nationals outfield Bryce Harper showing he has been given a bad public reputation?
Since he entered the public consciousness at the age of 16, Bryce Harper has been often been criticized for his willingness to speak his mind about his own talent and his team. Many have assumed this willingness to be outspoken is a sign of cockiness, a lack of respect for the game, or some level of disrespect for his competition.
Famously in spring training of 2015, Bryce was asked by reporters how he had reacted when he was informed that the Nationals had signed ace Max Scherzer. He certainly didn’t say anything incorrect or braggadocios, but the quote that everyone grabbed from the interview – “Where’s My Ring?” – became bulletin board material to give him crap the rest of the season long, especially as the Mets took the division title from his Nationals. Of course, no one seems to bring up that last line in the response that Bryce mentions that he’s going to do everything he can to bring a title to Washington, D.C., and if his 2015 isn’t about as much as a single player can do to help a team toward success, I’m not sure what else a hitter could do as Harper led the league in OBP, SLG, OPS, HR, and runs as he hit .330 and hit 42 home runs.
On Tuesday night as the All-Star game played out, this Tweet floated across the Twittersphere:
As he has for all his ASGs, Bryce Harper spent the rest of the game in the dugout while other subbed out players headed to the airport.
— Barry Svrluga (@barrysvrluga) July 13, 2016
Sadly, I think a lot of people just glanced right past that tweet and didn’t even consider it. However, this is Bryce Harper at his finest. Harper absolutely LOVES baseball, and he comes out as early as possible for All-Star weekend just to be there to partake in all the festivities. He even mentioned in an interview during the Minneapolis All-Star game about how he’d like to adjust All-Star week in order to get the Futures Game during the break as he said he would love to be there for that part of the week as well.
Bryce is known for his joking poke at a certain political candidate’s phrase by turning it against some of the old “unwritten rules” of baseball with his “Make Baseball Fun Again” shirts and caps. He has discussed how he took this stand due to his desire to see kids get excited about baseball again. Bryce grew up in a little league system where Kris Bryant and Joey Gallo played against him in near the same time. He was able to enjoy the game with great players but he also just loves the game.
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I had a personal experience seeing Harper twice last season while on my honeymoon, and while in the first game, his team lost the game, Harper drove in the first run on a ball that he grounded just to the right of the shortstop, but his hustle down the line forced a hurried throw from the shortstop, and in the end he forced an error. No RBI, no hit, but absolutely a play that Harper worked hard to help his team. Then later in the game there was a sharp ball hit to right field in the bottom of the fifth. Harper could have made a typical route to the ball and two runs would have scored, tying the game. Instead, he changed his route in order to line himself up to make a strong throw home, which kept the second runner at third base, leaving the game with a one-run National lead at the time.
That sort of hustle and the positive interaction I was able to witness from Harper in the pre-game before Scherzer’s near-perfect game (the second game I saw of his last summer) really got me to reconsider my attitude on Harper, and as I watched him more and more, it was hard not to see the passion and love he has for the game. Baseball could use MORE Bryce Harpers, if you ask me!
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This interview on Monday with Collin Cowherd is excellent. Bryce talks about shifting, home field advantage, more fun in baseball, SI cover at 16, his hair and the Home Run Derby. Enjoy!