Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper has been widely regarded as one of the best hitters in baseball for quite some time. However, you wouldn’t think that was the case if you looked at one of his at-bats against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.
Brewers relief pitcher Hoby Milner came into the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, and his first at-bat came against Harper.
Most would assume that it would be a difficult at-bat for any pitcher that has to face Harper. Instead, it was one of the most bizarre at-bats in recent memory.
Harper stepped to the plate and proceeded to watch all six pitches in the at-bat without even moving the bat off of his shoulder. He was eventually called out on strikes, which he again didn’t swing at.
ok bryce wtf pic.twitter.com/ZMIVjsWVGx
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) July 20, 2023
Players strike out all the time, but it rarely looks like this where it seemed like Harper had no interest in even looking for a pitch to swing at.
Fans clearly took notice of this strange moment for Harper and questioned exactly what the problem was in this at-bat.
Bryce Harper with the strangest ab of all time pic.twitter.com/AThsEA8snu
— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) July 20, 2023
Was Bryce Harper’s controller unplugged? Strangest at-bat I’ve seen in a while. pic.twitter.com/HuAQyqBKLY
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) July 20, 2023
Is Bryce Harper on Impractical Jokers or something? What’s happening here? pic.twitter.com/IiMf78NjNX
— Joe Pop (@JoePops_) July 20, 2023
That was…..odd.
Bryce Harper stood there taking the entire way on five straight pitches against Hoby Milner, seemingly like he was daring a junior varsity pitcher to throw a strike. Then on pitch six, he struck out looking on a fastball down the middle. pic.twitter.com/r1ly1EZN6b
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) July 20, 2023
I did this once in summer ball.
The only explanation is that Bryce Harper has diarrhea pic.twitter.com/8mxjd20Zjz
— Ben Upton (@Ben_Upton5) July 20, 2023
Philly talk radio: Juan Soto wouldn’t fit in here – he’s talented and all but his nonchalant, low-effort style of play wouldn’t fit in here
Bryce Harper: pic.twitter.com/scLtOuIsf0
— Sammy Reid (@SammyReidFI) July 20, 2023
Hilner was actually asked about the at-bat after the game, and was seemingly as confused as fans watching the game at home.
“After the first couple of pitches it was apparent that he was taking,” Milner told Brewers reporter Curt Hogg. “I guess he was going with the scouting report that I was going to throw balls. That’s really all I can say.”
The content you all crave: Hoby Milner discussing the strange at-bat against Bryce Harper in which he took six pitches the entire way en route to a punchout looking.
“He just stuck to a game plan and credit to him for sticking to it, I guess.” pic.twitter.com/bS07xtzGQP
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) July 20, 2023
The at-bat in question is pretty much a representation of Harper’s season to this point, bizarre and unusual.
Harper is typically known for his excellent power at the plate, but that hasn’t been the case at all this season, with only four home runs on the year.
