Bryce Harper has always had a flamboyant personality, and for better or worse, he’s received criticism for being more than just the typical boring baseball player.
In a piece by ESPN’s Tim Keown, Harper expressed disdain for MLB’s unwritten rules, saying the sport was “tired” and said baseball needs more dramatics.
“Baseball’s tired,” he says. “It’s a tired sport, because you can’t express yourself. You can’t do what people in other sports do. I’m not saying baseball is, you know, boring or anything like that, but it’s the excitement of the young guys who are coming into the game now who have flair. If that’s Matt Harvey or Jacob deGrom or Manny Machado or Joc Pederson or Andrew McCutchen or Yasiel Puig — there’s so many guys in the game now who are so much fun.
“Jose Fernandez is a great example. Jose Fernandez will strike you out and stare you down into the dugout and pump his fist. And if you hit a homer and pimp it? He doesn’t care. Because you got him. That’s part of the game. It’s not the old feeling — hoorah … if you pimp a homer, I’m going to hit you right in the teeth. No. If a guy pimps a homer for a game-winning shot … I mean — sorry.”
He stops, looks around. The hell with it, he’s all in.
“If a guy pumps his fist at me on the mound, I’m going to go, ‘Yeah, you got me. Good for you. Hopefully I get you next time.’ That’s what makes the game fun. You want kids to play the game, right? What are kids playing these days? Football, basketball. Look at those players — Steph Curry, LeBron James. It’s exciting to see those players in those sports. Cam Newton — I love the way Cam goes about it. He smiles, he laughs. It’s that flair. The dramatic.”
That’s a bold statement, but I’m betting everybody except for baseball faithful’s and older fans and players agree.
What’s the more exciting play? somebody hitting a home run and quietly running around the bases? Or this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61spAt92APc
Unwritten rules are trash. If you want a player to abide by a rule, then put it in the rulebook, otherwise, it creates a weird double-standard of a player doing something that’s legal by the rulebook, but not OK at the same time.
Expression in sports is what makes them great. Whether it’s a basketball player hanging on the rim, football players celebrating after a touchdown or hockey players raising the arms after scoring a goal. Baseball is far behind in allowing their players to have any modicum of personality, and hopefully, Harper’s statements push the envelope in allowing more personality-driven celebrations and antics.
[Deadspin]
Comments are closed.