Credit Where It Is Due

Certain athletes come along that take the game to a new level and carry the league on their shoulders, but I still can’t find a way to like them.  It can be their personality, something they did or simply the uniform they wear.   We all have them.  You will never hear me criticize their skill or importance to the league they play in and where they stand in history.  I just don’t like them.  Jeter, Bird, Magic, Isaiah, Knight, Swann, etc.   Over the years history may change some of that (Example Magic Johnson) but in most cases, the dislike carries on. 

Bryce Harper falls into this category for me.  He plays for the local MLB team (Nationals) and is quite possibly the best pure talent to come along since Ken Griffey, Jr.  He plays the game hard and understands its history.   It is nice to have him and other young stars on the Nationals so close to us so that Sam can see them play and hopefully Grayson too. 

Maybe it’s the taunting of opposing pitchers, or the WWE style eye-black and quite simply maybe it’s the arrogance shown in certain situations.  All of which could be by products of immaturity as he is only 20, but still old enough to know that he was wrong by most standards.  There is a part of me that thinks he might agree.

Yesterday, Harper scored some big points with me.  Not that he cares or needed to do anything of the sort. It just happened.  

My oldest son Sam has a lot of my traits especially when it comes to sports.  One of my favorite things to do as a kid and later on during my years of working in baseball was to just simply watch batting practice (B.P) before each game.  Sam loves to do this as well.  Since last year we have been to ten Nats game either at home or in Boston and we have been lucky to watch Harper impress the crowds during B.P.  

As we were headed to Nats Park in a driving rain storm, Sam duly noted that with it 1)being a Sunday,   2) a getaway day (the day that the visiting team leaves town) and 3) a lot rain, that we most likely wouldn’t get to see B.P.  Smart kid he is.  Still, we had many bright spots to look forward to with the rain leaving and Bryce Harper bobble heads waiting for us and two seats at the Red Porch for a little pre-game meal , but the prospect of missing batting practice bummed him out a little bit.  As we entered and secured the highly sought after promo item, that is already going for $100 on eBay, we quickly noticed the batting cage and “L” screen were sitting in their proper locations, ready for batting practice.  Amongst the clouds was a little ray of sunshine for the boy!

Harper is currently on the disabled list and hasn’t played in more than three weeks so the thought of him taking B.P. never entered my mind especially with his scheduled re-hab dates coming later this week at Single-A Potomac.  It was clear that the whole team was not participating, and looked to be only four players hitting.  One of them waiting his turn… a lefty in a black t-shirt that clearly was Bryce Harper.  Over the next twenty minutes Harper put on a display of spraying base hits all around the outfield and sent the crowd into a frenzy with more than a dozen “no-doubters” to all parts of the outfield stands including one ten rows up in the second deck in Center Field.

Harper clearly didn’t need to take batting practice on this wet, humid day and with him still nursing a sore knee, part of the leg that is critical to a hitter especially one like Harper who generates so much torque with his swing.  But he understood that this crowd bought tickets several weeks ago to watch him, then they stood in the rain waiting to receive a seven inch resin replica of him with a head that bobbles.   There he was paying respect to the fans when most athletes would have taken the easy way out and played it safe.  Good for you Bryce Harper, good for you. 

I don’t know for sure if that is why he did it, but I am pretty it played a part and for that I applaud him for his efforts and I am sure a few thousand fans feel the same way.  You won’t find me running for president of the Harper fan club, but that went a long way with me and I hope, for Nats fans, that he stays in D.C. for many years.   

That's what it is in the world of the Sports Grapevine ......

By the way, regarding the bobble heads we have in our house ….one of the funniest things Sam has ever said was following the earthquake in 2011 and we were on vacation…..”The one time that the bobble heads would have been fun to watch and we missed it”