Bryce Harper was ejected from Thursday’s game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and his Philadelphia Phillies.
After the game, Harper didn’t mince words expressing his frustration with the umpire who ejected him, Ángel Hernández.
Harper was facing a 3-2 pitch from Pittsburgh’s pitcher, Luis Ortiz. The pitch was low and inside and while Harper did initially begin to offer at the pitch, he appeared to check his swing well before going around. Only, as Harper was taking off his gear and getting ready to head to first base, he realized that the check swing was appealed and that Hernández, the third base umpire, ruled that he went around.
The frustrated Harper walked down to third base, arguing the call. He was soon ejected. And to the surprise of, well, absolutely nobody, the replay showed that Harper didn’t swing. And after the game, Harper continued to vent his frustration.
He started by talking about the specific call but soon shifted his attention to Hernández in general.
“Just Ángel in the middle of something again,” Harper said, per Alex Coffey, The Philadelphia Inquirer. “It’s just every year, it’s the same story, same thing. I’m probably going to get a letter from Michael Hill, and I’m going to get fined for being right, again. It’s the same thing over and over and over and over again. It’s just not right.”
Here's Bryce Harper's full quote on Angel Hernandez's call tonight. He said it was "just bad."
“Just Angel in the middle of something again. It’s just every year, it’s the same story, same thing."
More here: https://t.co/7HcZts4vXf pic.twitter.com/KXIkdjouKg
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) September 29, 2023
If Hernández has a fan base, it’s not a particularly loud group, at least on Twitter. Baseball fans were quick to back Harper’s words about Hernández, who consistently ranks as one of MLB’s worst umpires.
Read all of this. Players don’t talk like this much. Good for him. If the league is ever going to do something it will take a star of his caliber to get it done. https://t.co/3ZZHJ5ttHd
— Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) September 29, 2023
Harper— and all of @MLB— on Angel: https://t.co/SOJVKCbtqH pic.twitter.com/2eMZCLXfsR
— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) September 29, 2023
“I’m going to get fined for being right, again” is a great quote.
Angel is so hilariously bad. Luckily, this game means nothing, but dude is unemployable. https://t.co/IJ2JyrjAMB
— Gerry (@Saboats5) September 29, 2023
Spot the lie. https://t.co/fyfzyAUeLx
— A Triple Shy (@ATripleShyShow) September 29, 2023
Pittsburgh ended up winning the game 3-2. The significance of Thursday’s final result is minimal. The Pirates are eliminated while the Phillies are locked into the top Wild Card spot.
But with the postseason lingering, Hernández, and every other umpire, are going to be under a microscope.
[Alex Coffey on Twitter]
