Bryce Harper Loses It

quote:

Originally posted by playball2011:
I hope he's learned his lesson, but just a prime ex. of someone who has talent but not maturity. Makes me look at Jeter and Tebow who were thrown into media at early age and have conducted themselves differently. They were young but able to handle it much better.

Exactly what I have been saying. Add to those Ken Griffey Junior. Age is not the issue. Maturity and upbringing are.

quote:

Originally posted by njbb:
Do you remember in Money Ball Billy Bean working out during games, doing donuts in a parking lot after a game and throwing things in the locker room???
Game will drive you to drink

It will. Beane wasn't on live TV though.

Just saw on ESPN highlights that Matt Kemp of the Dodgers had to be taken out because he tweaked his hamstring running to first base. He took his glove and threw it. His parents did a horrible job.

Come on people this has no bearing on him as a person. I used to be one of those people who tried to keep players from smashing a helmet or whatever but then I realized I was one of those guys. I've punched all kinds of things, I've thrown my golf clubs farther than I hit the actual ball and earlier this season I snapped a fungo bat over my knee because I was struggling to hit popups to the IF. I was hitting epic moon shots to the OF fence but I was trying to hit to the right side of the IF. So I turned around and did a Bo Jackson to the bat over my knee. So maybe I had terrible parents but I know the guys loved it. We still laugh over it a couple of months later.

People handle things differently and just because you don't agree with it means it's wrong. The smart thing to do is do it where nobody can see you so you won't be judged. Pretty easy for me as a fat out of shape and ugly 38 year old at practice or on a golf course to stay out of the limelight but a multi-million dollar players has a tougher time.

I don't know about the idea of acting out like this in private. I think a large part of the display is precisely for public view to show that he does care about his performance and wants everyone to know he is not satisfied. Just imagine if he walked back and sat quietly or heaven forbid had a smile on his face. His critics would be saying he is too arrogant and thinks he's already made it and any failure doesn't matter. I love his passion and hope it continues to serve him well as he makes baseball a thrill to watch. Heal quickly, learn from it and get back to the game.

quote:

coach2709 said....I've thrown my golf clubs farther than I hit the actual ball

You too? My golf game resembles the track & field hammer throw more than the actual game of golf. I've shaved 10 strokes off my game using this approach.

quote:

Originally posted by igball:
I'll take a passionate Harper over 25 lazy Manny Ramirez's any day of the week.

Just to correct this. While Manny has his own issues, and he may do many things differently…he’s DEFINITELY NOT LAZY.

Ask his teammates. Where’s he at now Oakland? Ask Oakland who the FIRST PERSON at the ball park is, working on his swing, EVERYDAY.

I’m not defending other things he’s done or not done, but calling him “lazy” is not even close to the truth.

It’s a shame a lot of people see him that way. He’s arguably the best hitter that has EVER played the game.

For people comparing slamming a bat or helmet, as a PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYER to slamming your laptop? Really?

So you’re using that laptop on national TV? Don’t compare the two, they can’t be compared.

Have any of you who posted these things actually played truly competitive sports?

Get off the kid’s back. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 15. What kind of pressure were you dealing with at 15?

Desire to play the game? Heart? You can’t buy that and he’s got it, in spades.

His parents used to take away batting practice as punishment, and it worked.

Bad mouth his parents and the way he was raised?

Lay off the kid.

I wasn’t a real fan of his until I saw how intensely he plays the game. He WANTS IT. All the time, no exceptions.

Go quiz his teammates and ask them what they think. Seems they kind of like that intensity too.

I see people acting like he was born this good and it’s like he’s spoiled. This kid has worked his BUTT off since before he hit puberty. This has been his desire since day one. And he made it happen. Respect that work ethic.

And for everyone thinking their son wouldn’t do it, or even they themselves wouldn’t do it, problem is you DON’T KNOW. Not throwing your helmet at a high school or even college game can’t be compared to being on National TV and EXPECTED to be performing at the highest level in the MLB, and you can’t even legally buy a beer.

Here’s hoping he sticks to throwing equipment and doesn’t take out his frustration via drugs or alcohol.

OH...when people ask me who I think he reminds me of as a player???

Pete Rose.

You may do a lot of things better than him, but you weren't going to out hustle or out work him.

quote:

Get off the kid’s back. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 15. What kind of pressure were you dealing with at 15?

Who is at fault there? Not us...

But if he's going to throw a hissy-fit when he goes 0fer in a game I got news for you: there are plenty more out there ready to perform.

And he's a MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER. It's time to forget the age and remember the PROFESSION.

Don't forget to blame Harper for Mark DeRosa re-aggravated his left oblique injury ... since it was when he was high-fiving Harper. Harper clearly has a some high-five anger management issues.

quote:

Originally posted by fenwaysouth:

quote:

coach2709 said....I've thrown my golf clubs farther than I hit the actual ball

You too? My golf game resembles the track & field hammer throw more than the actual game of golf. I've shaved 10 strokes off my game using this approach.

You know I've learned to stop throwing my clubs after bad shots. I figured out that I never throw my club towards the cart and my buddies would drive the cart away (while laughing so hard they were on the verge of tears) so I had to walk to get my club. Since I'm fat I really don't like this aspect of golf so I stopped throwing them.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog 19:

quote:

Get off the kid’s back. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 15. What kind of pressure were you dealing with at 15?

Who is at fault there? Not us...

But if he's going to throw a hissy-fit when he goes 0fer in a game I got news for you: there are plenty more out there ready to perform.

And he's a MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER. It's time to forget the age and remember the PROFESSION.

I'm not blaming anyone for what he did. He did it. No one else.

But he'd young. He didn't spend several years in college and then several more in the minors learning to struggle through slumps, dealing with pitchers adjustments etc. Basically the OJT that a MLB player gets along the way.

I've got a 15 year old son. I would expect my son to be more mature at 22 than he would be at 15, or even 19. I know I was.

And he "hissy fit" ? LOL. He was MAD at himself.

If that bat hadn't bounced back and popped him, we wouldn't be having this discussion. He did it in the TUNNEL. He didn't do it front of everyone else.

And those "plenty more ready to perform" could they perform like him? How about at the age of 19?

If they had a kid in the minors with his bat, his arm and his ability...guess what...he'd be in the line up.

And I would never presume to make assumptions on how I would act if I was under that type of pressure of ANY Major League Player, since I've never been a Major League Player.

When I was in the Army, and in the years after, I've heard people criticize how people reacted in combat situations. I've also heard some of these people go on about how someone is supposed to react in those situations.

I can tell you that until you have been in that situation, you have NO IDEA how you'll actually react. You have an idea about how you'd HOPE or THINK you'd react, but until you experience it firsthand, everything else is just a guess nothing more.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:

quote:

Originally posted by fenwaysouth:

quote:

coach2709 said....I've thrown my golf clubs farther than I hit the actual ball

You too? My golf game resembles the track & field hammer throw more than the actual game of golf. I've shaved 10 strokes off my game using this approach.

You know I've learned to stop throwing my clubs after bad shots. I figured out that I never throw my club towards the cart and my buddies would drive the cart away (while laughing so hard they were on the verge of tears) so I had to walk to get my club. Since I'm fat I really don't like this aspect of golf so I stopped throwing them.

That's why I always walked when I played, instead of using the cart. I was much less likely to toss my club if I knew I'd have to walk to get it.

Besides, at least I could say I got some exercise out of the round at the very least.

It's said pro baseball is men playing a boys game. But they are men with the pressure of producing at work or losing their paycheck. Harper is a kid thrust into an adult environment. He's a kid working with men. He's expected to act older than he is. Chances are he'll come around. The question is how much negative attention he draws towards himself until he matures.

quote:

But he'd young. He didn't spend several years in college and then several more in the minors learning to struggle through slumps, dealing with pitchers adjustments etc. Basically the OJT that a MLB player gets along the way.

His parents (and he) chose to skip 2 years of high school and several years of college. They chose to skip that time to mature. Quit blaming baseball fans for their decisions.

He may have the talent to play the game at the highest level, but he has not shown that he has the maturity to do so.

Bulldog19,
Well I don't think he is getting paid to be mature, he is getting paid to win ballgames and put butts in the seats. Maturity has little to no effect on his role on the team as long as he is playing hard and doing so in a somewhat successful manner.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimmy03:

Exactly what I have been saying. Add to those Ken Griffey Junior. Age is not the issue. Maturity and upbringing are.

Exactly...Using his age is the ultimate copout. In the four years my son played HS ball, he never once threw a tantrum in the dugout after failing to execute an AB or making an error. He just went about his business. But I guided him along during his LL years and pointed out the do's and don'ts and he got it. Kids take in information like sponges. You just gotta spend a little time with them getting them to understand it. Sure it bothers anyone when they don't feel like they got the job done but there's no excuse for throwing things like a baby regardless of age.

If he was an immature 15 yr old, his old man should've never let him do the SI cover. This is where smart parenting comes in. When the parents let their superstar kids run amok, the result is an immature adult. That's why as parents, you navigate them thru this stuff. If you point out these thngs thru little league and in the home in general, by time they get older, they have a better shot at understanding how to compete with some class, act like an adult instead of a spoiled brat who didn't get his way.

Anybody remember Gregg Jeffries? Came to the Mets in the late 80's after blowing away the minor leagues for a couple of seasons and helped them win the division after a late season call up as a 20 year old. He had never struggled at any point in his life. By his second year he was throwing stuff around and by 23 he was being boo'd for being selfish and immature. Made the all star team a couple of times and was out of baseball in his early 30's. He had a decent career but was never the sure fire superstar he was supposed to be.

The question to me is if Harper is Ken Grifey Jr. or Gregg Jeffries. I have a feeling it's going to be Jeffries.

The kid isn't even 20 yet, barely has 50 at bats, and everyone feels the need to judge him and decide if he's going to be a hall of famer or a bust and a street bumm. And you wonder why his his guitar string is a little tight.

Were you judged publically like that 60 days into your first job after college. Were you judged like that 60 days after your first child was born on if you were a hall of fame parent, or a deadbeat parent? How did you feel when your kid was in his terrible twos and people at the grocery store were weighing in only your ability to control your kid.

quote:

Originally posted by zombywoof:

quote:

Originally posted by Jimmy03:

Exactly what I have been saying. Add to those Ken Griffey Junior. Age is not the issue. Maturity and upbringing are.

Exactly...Using his age is the ultimate copout. In the four years my son played HS ball, he never once threw a tantrum in the dugout after failing to execute an AB or making an error. He just went about his business. But I guided him along during his LL years and pointed out the do's and don'ts and he got it. Kids take in information like sponges. You just gotta spend a little time with them getting them to understand it. Sure it bothers anyone when they don't feel like they got the job done but there's no excuse for throwing things like a baby regardless of age.

HS ball has nothing to do with this discussion. It simply doesn’t apply.

Again, it’s comparing apples to oranges.

Seems to me if his teammates had a problem with the way he plays the game, you’d have heard it by now.

His job is to perform. Not to be a role model. Period. Dot. End of story.

Is it nice to see athletes perform and act great on and off the field so you can point to those types and say “That’s how you should be.” Yes, that’s great. But it’s NOT what they get PAID to do.

They are paid to PERFORM. To help their team WIN. Period. Dot. End of Story.

Seems like a lot of people are wanting this kid to fail. Seems like so many people waiting to say “I told you so.”

I served with a guy who liked to drink too much when we weren’t deployed. He’d almost always get in a fight, and **** somebody off. He bounced back and forth in rank like a pinball machine.

I wouldn’t choose him to hang out with or go have a beer with.

But if I knew I was going back into a situation where I needed someone to watch my back and keep his head under fire, this guy was first in line.

He was outstanding at his job. And because of that he was a valued member of our team.

I even saw a Harper detractor post garbage about him when he stole home on Hammels the other night. Called it “Showboating”. Really?

I wasn’t even a Harper fan until he got called up and I actually watched him play. My son likes watching him. I asked him why. You know what my 15 year old said?

I like watching him because he’s always DOING something. Every at bat you know he could wreck the ball, every time he’s on the bases you know he’s going to attack.

Simply put, he’s FUN to watch. He plays the game with an intensity you can’t teach.

I am confused. Expressing opinions is the purpose of this website. He is a baseball player who's job has one purpose which is to entertain me and others that have an interest in baseball. Seems like fair game to me.

quote:

The kid isn't even 20 yet, barely has 50 at bats, and everyone feels the need to judge him

quote:

Were you judged publically like that 60 days into your first job after college.

Now wait a second. He was on the cover of SI at the age of 15. He left high school at 16. He's been "on the job" a lot longer than 60 days!

And again I ask, who made the decision to put him in the spotlight that he is in? Wasn't me...

Breaking a bat doesn't bother me. Guys get mad and break stuff all the time. I worked with a dude who broke about ten of those cheap att merlin phones in one year. Glad Harper didn't get hit in the eye or take his frustrations out on someone else. Maybe, he'll keep doing things like that. Maybe, he won't.

Throwing things, breaking things aren't tolerated at any other level of baseball, but, for some reason, it's ok in the majors. I'm not gonna worry about it, if Bud Seelig doesn't.

quote:

Now wait a second. He was on the cover of SI at the age of 15. He left high school at 16. He's been "on the job" a lot longer than 60 days!

No, he's been a MLB player for 60 days. If you use that, "he's been on the job more that 60 days" line of thinking you would need to count all those jobs you had in high school and college along the way too. It's not different.

quote:

Originally posted by Tx-Husker:

quote:

Now wait a second. He was on the cover of SI at the age of 15. He left high school at 16. He's been "on the job" a lot longer than 60 days!

No, he's been a MLB player for 60 days. If you use that, "he's been on the job more that 60 days" line of thinking you would need to count all those jobs you had in high school and college along the way too. It's not different.

Actually, the day he signed his pro contract was when he took on the profession as a professional baseball player. His rise thru the system is like an employee getting a promotion in an organization. So yes, he's been on the job much longer than 60 days. Also, he's thrown these tantrums in the past which says this is how he is because nobody gave him a sitdown and strraightened him out when he first needed it.

I'll bet my money on his talent rather than his occasional petulance. I see lots of silliness on this thread. Way too many people want to jump at an opportunity to bring him down. It seems to almost be out of jealousy but who knows.

quote:

I'll bet my money on his talent rather than his occasional petulance. I see lots of silliness on this thread. Way too many people want to jump at an opportunity to bring him down. It seems to almost be out of jealousy but who knows.

+1

There are plenty of things getting smashed and broken in the minor leagues too....Even the guys who never throw a helmet in HS or college.... are winging those things around in the pros ....
They do a lot of cussing too... Had a lady at a pro game say " the ump should speak to them about their bad language" .....oh ok....

quote:

Originally posted by Tx-Husker:

quote:

Way too many people want to jump at an opportunity to bring him down. It seems to almost be out of jealousy but who knows.

+1

+2
I just read where a AA manager has to fill a 3 (?) day suspension. He had heated words with the umpire, he got mad, threw his helmet and it bounced back and hit the ump in the head.

I'll be he'll never do that again!

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:

quote:

Originally posted by Tx-Husker:

quote:

Way too many people want to jump at an opportunity to bring him down. It seems to almost be out of jealousy but who knows.

+1

+2
I just read where a AA manager has to fill a 3 (?) day suspension. He had heated words with the umpire, he got mad, threw his helmet and it bounced back and hit the ump in the head.

I'll be he'll never do that again!

From the video: The helmet didn't bounce. It hit the umpire in the head on the fly. The manger is a former college player with no pro experience. Maybe another case of moving up too soon for his level of maturity.

quote:

Originally posted by Emanski's Heroes:
I'll bet my money on his talent rather than his occasional petulance. I see lots of silliness on this thread. Way too many people want to jump at an opportunity to bring him down. It seems to almost be out of jealousy but who knows.

I agree on the first part. Sooner or later he will succeed or fail on his talent alone. But I doubt that jealousy is a motivator for posters. But then I give them the benefit of the doubt as much as some want Bryce to get the benefit of the doubt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGZUKHtW7vg

Remember this one ?

The manager is AA TL with lots of pro experience.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog 19:

quote:

The kid isn't even 20 yet, barely has 50 at bats, and everyone feels the need to judge him

quote:

Were you judged publically like that 60 days into your first job after college.

Now wait a second. He was on the cover of SI at the age of 15. He left high school at 16. He's been "on the job" a lot longer than 60 days!

And again I ask, who made the decision to put him in the spotlight that he is in? Wasn't me...

He's batting .154 in his last 39 at bats. Plenty, plenty of rookies get moved up and fit in seamlessly every year. I agree TX. He's not ready emotionally. Half of being successful at that level is fitting in. (see Lastings Milledge)

First Hr tonight. He will have his ups and downs but the only thing and I mean the ONLY THING that will stop him from being a great ML star is injury, not any of this other stuff. Everybody from Youkalis to Manny to A Rod has some kind of atitude problem and it doesn't seem to affect their play in the long run. At least he hustles all the time which is more than you can say for half the guys in the Majors. That's why when you see someone actually run out grounders and popups, it stands out so much at that level.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
The manager is AA TL with lots of pro experience.

From an Arkansas reporter:

"Springfield Cardinals Manager Mike Shildt contacted me Saturday afternoon and we met for a very somber talk at Arvest Ballpark about his actions during an ejection Friday night where a helmet he tossed hit an umpire. Shildt was extremely contrite and apologetic about his actions the night before. “I take full responsibility for my actions,” Shildt told me before Saturday’s game. “It was completely unintentional. I made a poor decision.” The first year manager for the AA Springfield Cardinals went on to explain that it wasn’t until he heard the audible gasp from the crowd, that he realized he had hit First Base umpire Matt Benham. “The fact was that he was hit by it and I immediately apologized for it.”

Shildt began serving a three-game suspension Saturday night as his club went on to beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 3-2.

Mike Shildt is among a rare breed of minor league managers without major league playing experience, playing only college baseball for UNC-Asheville.

As far as I am concerned, this manager has plenty of pro experience (whether it be as a player or at the coaching level).

This is also a person that is supposed to develop and set an example for players who may get to the next level.

My point WAS and still IS, that while there are those quick to condemn 19 year old behavior, the above shows us (action not acceptable) how frustrating the game can be even for adults.

Does this mean the player is selfish, spoiled?

To some yes, but likely the same people who go to bed at night dreaming of their sons being the next Bryce Harper.

Looks like he has pro experience to me.

Mike Schildt

quote:

Originally posted by Three Bagger:
First Hr tonight. He will have his ups and downs but the only thing and I mean the ONLY THING that will stop him from being a great ML star is injury, not any of this other stuff. Everybody from Youkalis to Manny to A Rod has some kind of atitude problem and it doesn't seem to affect their play in the long run. At least he hustles all the time which is more than you can say for half the guys in the Majors. That's why when you see someone actually run out grounders and popups, it stands out so much at that level.

Harper just hit HR #2. Now the Nats are only down 5-1 in the 6th - Strasburg had a bad first inning - gave up 3 runs.

How is his home run trot? Surely there's something wrong with it....too fast, too slow, move his arms too much when he's running, gotta be something?