What We Can Learn From the Harper-Strickland Brawl
Hunter Strickland throwing at Bryce Harper reflects a bigger problem in baseball.
If three year old beef means you get to drill the other team’s best player, then the game of baseball is failing its players. The idea of retaliation, of letting players police themselves by throwing 95 mph fastballs and punches at each other, has been a hot topic around the game, and yesterday’s incident between Bryce Harper and Hunter Strickland has brought it up once again.
It all started in Game 1 of the 2014 National League Division Series. With no outs in the seventh, Harper launched a 97 mph fastball off Strickland to the upper deck to get the Nationals on the board.
Then came NLDS Game 4, where Harper hit another of his 97 mph fastballs into McCovey Cove in San Francisco to tie the game and spark a near comeback for the Nats. In his home run trot, Harper seems to look at Strickland before rounding second base. In two at-bats against the right-hander, Harper hit two home runs, and the two did not meet again for another two and a half years.
So when Strickland drilled Harper with a 98 mph fastball to the hip, it seemed to be intentional. Harper pointed at the mound with his bat, charged at the pitcher, and then threw his helmet to the side before taking the first punch in the brawl.
Harper was restrained by Ryan Zimmerman, while Strickland had to be hauled off by four of his teammates, including the injured Hunter Pence.
It was the first actual fight Harper has been in, and led to the ninth ejection of his young career. Strickland was also ejected, but they were the only two tossed.
Besides the obvious question of whether players should police themselves, which we have already covered here at ROBaseball, this particular incident raises the question of whether there was even cause at all for retaliation. After all, Harper homered off him over two years ago, and he only hit two homers off the guy. There was some showboating, but it was the playoffs where emotions run high, and a quick stare down rounding second is almost nothing. In the end, Harper’s home runs did not prove decisive in that series. Strickland has a World Series ring to prove it.
“He’s got a World Series ring. It’s on his finger, and he can look at every single night he wants to. We were out and they were playing Kansas City in the World Series.” — Bryce Harper
Interestingly, Buster Posey who was behind the plate for the Giants at the time of the brawl, did not get involved. Usually in these types of situations, the catcher tries to prevent the hitter from charging the mound and protects his pitcher. In this instance, Posey watched for the most part as Bryce pointed, took off his helmet, and ran towards Strickland.
Posey’s attitude suggests this had nothing to do with the teams. Instead, it was a pitcher who felt he had been wronged three years ago, and decided it was time to take matters into his own hands. Posey stood back and let Strickland know if this is what he wanted, he was going to have to pay the consequences.
Nonetheless, Strickland felt it warranted retaliation. In today’s MLB climate, throwing a baseball at someone is better than charging the mound. Players are suspended and fined more for charging the mound (even if they never make contact nor come close to the opposing pitcher) than the player who initiated the situation by throwing at the batter.
How is one thing better than the other? More to the point, why are they treated differently? Is a fastball to the hip or back better than a punch before the skirmish is broken up? In the end, the goal is to injure the opposing player, regardless of how it happens.
“A baseball is a weapon… And to be able to use that to his advantage, I guess that’s just what he wanted to do in that situation… sometimes you’ve got to go and get him. You can’t hesitate. You either go to first base or you go after him. And I decided to go after him.” — Bryce Harper
This is the issue with players policing themselves, things are allowed to escalate to the point where they can get injured. If someone beats you on two pitches three years ago, get back at him by getting him out, not drilling him.
For the second time this month, one of MLB’s biggest stars could have been seriously injured when players tried to police themselves. If that’s not a wake up call, I don’t know what is.
