Skip to search.

Breaking News Visit Yahoo! News for the latest.

×Close this window

Big League Stew - MLB

Big League Stew

Thu Aug 11 10:05am EDT

Bryce Harper gets in umpire’s face after strike 3 call and ejection

By 'Duk

Bryce Harper gets in umpire’s face after strike 3 call and ejection

Nothing is guaranteed to zoom around the baseball blogosphere quite like a video of uber-prospect Bryce Harper(notes) earning his first ejection from a Double-A game.

And the clip that started making the rounds on Wednesday night via Adam Kilgore's WaPo blog doesn't disappoint. After taking a few steps toward first for an assume walk, the Washington Nationals farmhand furiously wheels around and confronts the umpire who called strike three instead. Harper gets the heave-ho for his initial reaction of slamming his helmet down, then gets right up in umpire Max Guyll's grill. Harper's manager on the Harrisburg Senators and the first-base umpire end up separating the two, but not before a fan captures the YouTube-ready incident on his camera.

For the "Bryce Harper is the next LeBron James" narrative, the video had more than enough ammunition. What it didn't have was any context. According to the Harrisburg Patriot-News, Harper was far from the first player to grouse over Guyll's strike zone:

Sixteen of the 18 players who started Wednesday night's Eastern League game between Richmond and Harrisburg weren't too happy with the size of home plate umpire Max Guyll's strike zone. Body language, stare downs and brief post-strikeout arguments easily revealed as much through the first seven innings at Metro Bank Park.

Does any of that excuse Harper's overheated reaction? Nope.

But it does lend a little more insight as to why an 18-year-old with a lot of growing up to do might act that way. Of course, in this day and age, context and benefit of the doubt are two luxuries that Harper will have to operate without.

The sooner he can build that filter, the better it will be for him in the long run.

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
• NFL player's sneaky pursuit for good food
• Why is Alex Smith still the 49ers' starting QB?
• Soccer player gets lifetime ban from team for drinking

digg delicious

Related Articles

Launch Article Browser

Big League Stew

Add to My Yahoo! RSS

Related Photo Gallery

More MLB Photos »

Y! Sports Blog