Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper lost his cool and was ejected but did he have point?

It’s not uncommon to see players in any sport taking issue with what they believe is an incorrect call by an official. It’s a completely different story, however, to see a player absolutely lose his cool and essentially choose violence as the best response.

Bryce Harper went ballistic

If you caught the Philadelphia Phillies’ 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night, then you most definitely witnessed the moment went Phillies star, Bryce Harper, essentially exploded in a fit of rage on the field. The moment in question occurred during the third inning of the game. Harper at the time was called out after he swung on a ball that was blatantly low. For his part, Harper appeared to check his swing, and on replay it certainly looked as though he did. Unfortunately for him, third-base umpire Ángel Hernández didn’t see it that way.

Hernández proceeded to call Harper out, at that point the Phillies star lost it and began to charge at Hernández while screaming at him. Needless to say, the first baseman was ejected from the game while several Phillies coaches fought to contain him. Eventually, the 30-year-old calmed down and as he did so the Philly faithful let him know they were behind him as they gave him a massive standing ovation. He responded by tossing his helmet into the stands behind the dugout. To be clear, as much as replays appeared to show that Harper successfully checked his swing, the umpire’s decision is not reviewable and so, that’s that. Interestingly, Harper said postgame that Hernández said he would realize that he swung at the ball once he saw the replay, which of course appears to not be the case. “Ángel in the middle of something again. It’s every year, same story, same thing,” Harper said. “I’m probably going to get fined for being right, again.”

What about Bryce Harper’s helmet?

There was at least one positive from the whole situation and that was the fact that by throwing his helmet into the stands, Harper made the day of 10-year-old Hayden Dorfman who caught it. To make things even better, Harper actually signed the helmet for him as well.

OK, but what about the actual Phillies vs. Pirates game?

At the time of Harper’s ejection, the game was tied 1-1. Philly’s Kyle Schwarber had hit a solo home run in the first inning to give his team an early lead but then Jared Triolo hit an RBI double to tie things up in the third. In the fifth inning, the Pirates took the lead through yet another RBI double from Triolo which was followed by a hit from Jack Suwinski. Finally, there was Trea Turner who scored in the eighth on an error, but it was a question of too little too late and with that, the Pirates secured the win.

Regarding the bigger picture, the loss brought to an end the Phillies’ seven-game winning streak, which included a four-game series sweep of the New York Mets and two wins against the Pirates. While the loss will be disappointing, it’s worth noting that the Phillies have already clinched a playoff spot, while the Pirates have been eliminated from contention and will miss the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.