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MLB Players Say Jonathan Papelbon Was Right To Attack Bryce Harper
The Washington Nationals shocked the baseball world on Sunday when the team's closer, Jonathan Papelbon, choked teammate Bryce Harper in the team dugout, leading to a fight between the two. Then MLB players as a whole did so once again afterward by anonymously ripping Harper, not Papelbon.
The scuffle happened in the eighth inning of the Nationals' 12-5 loss against the Phillies at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Papelbon took issue with Harper after the 22-year-old MVP candidate's failure to run out a fly ball -- a "lack of hustle" play that's gotten Harper benched in the past. Papelbon accosted Harper as he returned to the dugout, where the incident turned physical. The pair have been teammates for less than two months. The Nationals' season in six seconds: Idiot closer tries to fight the MVP who's too good for this garbage. https://t.co/aYBIOnzfGL Outfielder Ian Desmond pulled Harper away from Papelbon and the game continued. Papelbon went on to pitch the ninth inning -- something that manager Matt Williams says he wouldn't have allowed had he known the extent of the fight -- and allow five runs in the loss. Papelbon had recently served a three-game suspension for intentionally hitting Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, a decision Harper publicly criticized. Immediately after Sunday's game, Papelbon was heavily criticized for what many saw people saw as his latest display of needlessly aggressive behavior. The Papelbon video is so bad. It's a running-down-steps sucker-punch on a guy with a bench behind him. He shouldn't wear that uniform again. Seriously, who is Papelbon to tell the future MVP Harper how to act when they've been teammates for a minute. And then to attack him? A joke I mean it's #Nats Fan Appreciation Day. Give them something they can appreciate, like the whole team chasing Papelbon out of DC. Just saw the video of Papelbon and Harper. Harper definitely egged him on, but Papelbon went after him hard. Embarrassing all around. OK, who’s going to write the hot take DEFENDING Papelbon? Any takers?!?! Nationals manager Matt Williams was "livid" after seeing footage of the fight, but some active and former MLB players aren't upset at Papelbon, according to Fox Sports' C.J. Nitkowski. In fact, a few are siding with him, justifying Papelbon's actions and decrying Harper for not running out that fly ball. "I would have done the same thing if I were Papelbon," one player anonymously told Nitkowski. "As a teammate, you always feel you have the right to say something to someone if you feel it’s wrong or hurts the club. Right after the popup is not the best time to call out a hitter," another said. While MLB players agree that Harper's lack of hustle warranted a strong response from his teammates, they acknowledge that handling the matter inside the clubhouse and at a different time would've been more appropriate. One player, however, was unequivocal in his assessment of Harper. "He quit on his team after the fight, just like he does on popups." Also on HuffPost: -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.  More... |
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