Bryce Harper

[Hankphenom]

How about just running out your plays, Bryce? That would make me more excited about you. Oh, and baseball is doing better than ever, by the way. If you're bored, please go do something else, it doesn't need you. Really.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer1999

Yeah lets turn baseball into the NBA and get some music and lights going between pitches! Maybe even get the Lakers Girls to become Dodgers Girls and work the foul lines. Baseball is fine the way it is.. why does everything need to be recreated? There is plenty of fire and emotion in the game. The NBA stinks, I think the NFL stinks and is boring. Leave baseball alone, why mess with tradition.

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

How about just running out your plays, Bryce? That would make me more excited about you. Oh, and baseball is doing better than ever, by the way. If you're bored, please go do something else, it doesn't need you. Really.

+1 to both of these comments

[Rich Klein]

Laker Girls coming to Baseball. I'm IN for more viewing

[dabigyankeeman]

I love when athletes show emotion. Baseball has to loosen up, its not showing you up if the hitter celebrates because he did what he is supposed to do. You can celebrate when you strike him out.

As to nerds and the new stats, I like the new stats, but I do think they are over-used at times.

[Beastmode]

Here's a suggestion; How about Harper gets a ring before he mouths off. One MVP and he thinks he's Buster Posey. He can't wear Buster's jock. Who's next; Mike Trout talking about modern players changing the game? Brandon Crawford has two more rings than both they guys combined.

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by Beastmode

Here's a suggestion; How about Harper gets a ring before he mouths off. One MVP and he thinks he's Buster Posey. He can't wear Buster's jock. Who's next; Mike Trout talking about modern players changing the game? Brandon Crawford has two more rings than both they guys combined.

Can't tell if serious.

[packs]

Harper is the face of the game and has been the future face of the game since he was in high school. It's foolish to see him any other way. The guy won the MVP last year at 22 years old. He was the third youngest player ever to do that. Stop acting like he's Stephen Strasburg. He's not. He lives up to the hype. His opinions on the future of the game are more relevant than anyone else's because he IS the future of the game, like or not.

[Clutch-Hitter]

Mission-Team-Self

Used to be a 49ers fan, enjoyed Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, etc. I recall them celebrating a team achievement, not individual achievements. Watched all NFL games back then. Anyway, T.O, arrived and caught his first T.D. pass, which was followed by tears. I liked him. He 'progressed' into pulling a sharpie out of his sock and signing a football in the endzone. I turned if off that day and haven't watched a single down since. Stuff like that became out of control and football suffered a significant reduction in class.

If there are unwritten rules, as its been coined, they're made by the players' teammates and retired players (didn't include managers/coaches because they seem to have little say). They have a mission and work together to accomplish it and fans should not have a say. Show boating was something to avoid in the past and any Team that attempts to play as a team will deter it.

But if we're forced to think about the individuals, I'd like more Dale Murphy and Fred McGriff, please. Football and basketball inherently require more aggression, both in quantity and quality, including body contact, and result in more opportunities for emotional celebration as a resut. Emotional celebration for team achievement is genuine and obvious. Other celebration is based on narcissism (sic?).

Respectfully

[packs]

Something people haven't brought up yet is that baseball itself thinks it's tired. They've changed rules every year in an attempt to liven up the game. So what exactly did Harper say that isn't reflected in baseball's own vision of its current self?

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

Laker Girls coming to Baseball. I'm IN for more viewing

Get the Lakers girls to dance in the foul territory at Miller Park, and I'll buy season tickets. I don't even live in Milwaukee.

I agree with Bryce, to an extent. I think there needs to be a little bit more "fun" to the game, without making it the spectacle that the NBA has become. Part of what makes minor league baseball so fun is the little nuances that are unique to each team and ballpark. I'd love to see more of that in the Majors.

When a home run gets hit in Milwaukee, Bernie slides down into a mug of beer (well, not really). And, we have the sausage races. Let's see more of the excitement that made this game The National Pastime!

[Snapolit1]

There are guys in baseball who you do not want to be on line grabbing a hot dog or a beer for . . you want to be in the seat watching every at bat. And you look ahead to see if he's batting next inning in timing your bathroom break. He is one of them. Ditto Trout. Ditto Cespedes. Ditto a hand full of other guys. That to me is the test that separates a star from an excellent player. Some of the "star" guys, i.e. Darryl Strawberry, Puig, ultimately don't have the career to back it up. I said it for years and stand by it: other than his farewell tour, no one around the country was buying tickets to see Derek Jeter play. Great great team player. Came though in the clutch remarkably in the post season. HOF material. No one ever bought a ticket in Cleveland or Detroit to see him play in June. Sometimes the big stars run their mouth a little much, i.e., Harvey, but these are the guys who put fannies in the seats, as Keith Hernandez would say.

Some guy is selling a Fidyrch autograph picture over on the other board. I read the Fidrych write up on Wikipedia. Damm, what a season that was. And what amazing fun. If he was around today I guess we would need to tell him to shut the hell up. Everything he'd be doing would be to "show up" the other team or somehow mock someone.

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

There are guys in baseball who you do not want to be on line grabbing a hot dog or a beer for . . you want to be in the seat watching every at bat. And you look ahead to see if he's batting next inning in timing your bathroom break. He is one of them. Ditto Trout. Ditto Cespedes. Ditto a hand full of other guys. That to me is the test that separates a star from an excellent player. Some of the "star" guys, i.e. Darryl Strawberry, Puig, ultimately don't have the career to back it up. I said it for years and stand by it: other than his farewell tour, no one around the country was buying tickets to see Derek Jeter play. Great great team player. Came though in the clutch remarkably in the post season. HOF material. No one ever bought a ticket in Cleveland or Detroit to see him play in June. Sometimes the big stars run their mouth a little much, i.e., Harvey, but these are the guys who put fannies in the seats, as Keith Hernandez would say.

When we had Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun batting back to back between 2007 and 2011, a lot of bladders went unrelieved at Miller Park for exactly the reason you mentioned. You didn't want to miss a single one of their at bats, and there was no way you were taking a trip to the can if both guys were guaranteed to make it up to the plate in the home half of the inning. In five years, they combined to hit 361 home runs, and drove in 1,096 runs. The Brewers weren't always good, but every game, even the ones we lost, were fun because there was always a chance one or both of them were going to hit a 440 foot bomb.

[KingFisk]

Harper is an exciting player and not entirely wrong. It seems like he has been around forever, so sometimes it is hard to remember how young he is. As far as his comments, the answer probably lives somewhere in the middle of the new school vs. old school philosophies. Anyway, I am hoping he has a HOF career, so this contrived short print will help pay for the kid's college education.

[Snapolit1]

"Baseball is fine the way it is.. why does everything need to be recreated?"

Maybe that's true for 50 year old men. I have two boys who I have to drag to a baseball game . . . .yet they play baseball for hours on end with their xbox . . . .

I agree the celebrating in basketball and football has gone way over the top. But baseball is way too far in the other direction. When a guy hits a home run in a championship game and people bitch about a bat flip . . . c'mon . . . .

The Hispanic players play in the winter leagues and its amazing to see the celebrating on the field, the clowning around, the sheer joy. Maybe we don't need all of that in the major leagues but a dose would be fun. Ditto for the Korean professional leagues.

You know who was the biggest showboat in the history of the game. Babe Ruth of course. He would talk trash to half the infield while he was circling the bases. For some reason no one has ever called him out as the poster boy for bad on field behavior.

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Babe Ruth talking trash to half the infield? Other than the called shot in 1932 when retaliating for the Mark Koenig snubs I don't think that Ruth did much out-of-line on the field? He did jab at the Cubs as he circled the bases that day.

I just put in a quick call to one of Ruth's best biographers and one of my SABR buddies he said no way.

I think baseball does lack some color but it comes from the business like way many of the guys play the game. In the 1930's and 40's you had guys coming from tough times, baseball was a relief from everyday life where their fathers worked in the fields or the mines.

Now many American players are bred for the game much like tennis kids or golf kids. Parents take them to hitting or pitching coaches everyday or they hit in cages after school each day. The days are gone where a kid just comes from nowhere to the bigs. Harper is is the poster child for this type of player along with Heyward. Their stories have been told over and over on the air and in print.

The latin players today are reflective of the old school American players of the early days of the game save the steroid influence in many of their countries.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I don't mind the occasional celebration of a big moment like the Bautista bat flip, but if hitters made a regular practice of showing up pitchers, or vice versa, I would not care for that. Can you imagine a pitcher running over to high five the shortstop after a key strikeout? Yuck.

[Dan Carson]

Let the pitchers and batters go at when the batter charges the mound?!

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I don't mind the occasional celebration of a big moment like the Bautista bat flip, but if hitters made a regular practice of showing up pitchers, or vice versa, I would not care for that. Can you imagine a pitcher running over to high five the shortstop after a key strikeout? Yuck.

Agree...Goose is a tad bit out of control!!!!

[Jantz]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Maybe that's true for 50 year old men. I have two boys who I have to drag to a baseball game . . . .yet they play baseball for hours on end with their xbox . . . .

Am I the only board member 50 years or older who got a chuckle out of this?

[Mountaineer1999]

Originally Posted by Jantz

Am I the only board member 50 years or older who got a chuckle out of this?

+1

[sycks22]

The unwritten rules of baseball are what help keep it the national pastime. There are some unwritten rules that I don't agree with including: going hard into 2nd to break up a double play. It's the SS / 2B's responsibility to get out of the way as they know it's coming and people complain about the runner trying to help his team out. Another complaint is that a lot of people don't agree with a player bunting to break up a no hitter. Is it the opponents job to give up and be part of history in a negative way just to serve an unwritten rule? If you're not trying to win, why be out there? Just my 2 cents.

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by Jantz

Am I the only board member 50 years or older who got a chuckle out of this?

As I quickly approach 40, I'm not chuckling anymore, as I realize 50, 60, are right around the corner. Man it goes fast!!!

I get the kids argument, but aside from not fully grasping all the various intricacies of the game, I don't think I viewed and appreciated baseball much differently as a kid, as I do an adult. Not to be the "in my day" guy, but I do think with the advent of Sportscenter highlights, smartphones, internet, scrolling tickers on many TV stations, that overall attention spans and patience are dwindling these days... I think it's a bummer. As a young kid who played a lot of baseball, I loved watching the game as it was, without many frills. I loved its history ('86 WS and Curse of the Bambino hooked me forever), or the little tidbits my dad would feed me. As a player circled the bases after a HR, I may ask, "Why aren't they smiling Dad?"... "because they've done it before". I would then take those learned mannerisms (plus Will Clark's crazy facial expressions) back to little league, trying my hardest not to gush after a big hit, or great fielding play... trying my hardest not to smile when pitching to my best friend (usually we'd make it a pitch, and then start grinning.. I'd pull my bill low and try to hide it with my glove). It's all just part of the quirky personality of the game I loved then, and still love today.

That being said, I have no issue with genuine, non choreographed (unlike Prince Fielder dumbass "exploding" at home plate after a walk off vs Giants) celebration. I include Bautista's bat flip given the gravity and emotion of the moment... and I have no issue with all the old school red asses that get all hot and bothered by these antics. The game today has become a great world melting pot, a mix of personality and style, reverence for the past, and cap tipping respect to contemporaries (see Matheny to Bochy post 2014 NLCS). I love it all, and hope these aspect all remain in semi-balance to each other.

[HRBAKER]

Originally Posted by Jantz

Am I the only board member 50 years or older who got a chuckle out of this?

Jantz,

You didn't realize that once you hit fifty your ability to discern btw those things that are exciting and boring goes into steep decline?

[RTK]

It isn't so much the game, as it is the attention span of people in general. It's become so short that people can't sit at a stop light without checking facebook on their phone. Football only plays 16 regular season games, catering to weekend sports fans who probaly couldn't tell you a thing about the nuances or history of the game. Basketball is about the "show". They haven't called travelling since the 50's. It's gotten to the point that it isn't that you score but how spectacular the basket is. Baseball is on the opposite end of the spectrum, it's chess, a sport to be studied and savoured. It gives you time to think between plays with numerous ways to score. A 1-0 game can be as exciting as a 9-8 game. Both basketball and football over engineer their rules to encourage excessive scoring. Defence in both sports is on the endangered list. In baseball both offence and defense can be appreciated. Baseball for the most part isn't over engineered, it has a certain dignity, the sport is just fine the way it is,it's everybody else that's wrong.

[Clutch-Hitter]

Bryce Harper, at 22, sounds like a Prima donna: a person who thinks she or he is better than everyone else and who does not work well as part of a team or group. He complained about people not being able to express themselves. Is this baseball or theatre? His teammates heard him tell the world that they're boring and, while still mounted upon the stallion with which he travels through life, proceeded to name names of the current great ones (forming a posse) who are withheld the opportunity for emotional outburst, all the while pointing the finger at the annointed one: himself. He should've praised his teammates and verbalized gratitude for the few years he's played. Maybe he should sit down with Tiger for some knowlege.

No prima donna will change baseball. I understand about not missing an at-bat for a hot dog, but that's a FAN perspective. His comment was from a player perspective and was an effort to bring fans into his posse along with other prima donnas. quite frankly, he sounds like he's spoiled and has been for quite a while.
-----------------

[Beastmode]

the last two posts, #82 and #83, might be the most thoughtful written comments I've seen on this board in a long time. And their back-to-back. Nicely written gents.

[irishdenny]

Originally Posted by Clutch-Hitter

Bryce Harper, at 22, sounds like a Prima donna: a person who thinks she or he is better than everyone else and who does not work well as part of a team or group. He complained about people not being able to express themselves. Is this baseball or theatre? His teammates heard him tell the world that they're boring and, while still mounted upon the stallion with which he travels through life, proceeded to name names of the current great ones (forming a posse) who are withheld the opportunity for emotional outburst, all the while pointing the finger at the annointed one: himself. He should've praised his teammates and verbalized gratitude for the few years he's played. Maybe he should sit down with Tiger for some knowlege.

No prima donna will change baseball. I understand about not missing an at-bat for a hot dog, but that's a FAN perspective. His comment was from a player perspective and was an effort to bring fans into his posse along with other prima donnas. quite frankly, he sounds like he's spoiled and has been for quite a while.
-----------------

Originally Posted by Beastmode

the last two posts, #82 and #83, might be the most thoughtful written comments I've seen on this board in a long time. And their back-to-back. Nicely written gents.

Your Prima Donna at work...
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:14864325

I Love Strong opinion's!
You & Bryce have a lot in Common...

[JollyElm]

Regarding this 'new' world of baseball, there are two specific things that bother the living sh_t of me:

1. The second a pitched ball touches the dirt, it is immediately thrown out of the game by the umpire. This is baseball. It's played in the frickin' dirt, yet they insist that each ball has to be absolutely perfect with nary a blemish on it so the batter isn't at a disadvantage??!! Next thing you know, each player will receive a therapeutic massage, apricot scrub and tea service in the on-deck circle. Come on MLB!!!!!!!!!

2. Pitchers who come into the game with their hat brims perfectly flat and straightened with no curve to them whatsoever. Some of these d-bags even shift the hat a little so it's not properly aligned on their head, having the brim off to the side. I don't care if I'm rooting for their team, the moment one of these guys appears on the mound I hope they get lit up and sent to the showers!!!!!!!!!

[chaddurbin]

this new guy and his showboating disrespecting the game...he's no joe dimaggio that's for sure. i don't know if he's gonna work out.

[Peter_Spaeth]

The NBA is the worst. Every free throw, even the missed ones. Ridiculous.

[vintagetoppsguy]

The bat flip has one purpose - to show up the pitcher/opposing team. It's rude and arrogant. I honestly see no difference between the bat flip or if Bautista had shot the finger at the pitcher/opposing bench. It sends the same message.

Celebrating? There's a difference between celebrating the moment and showing up the other team. The bat flip is meant to show up the other team. Kirk Gibson didn't flip his bat, he celebrated by pumping his arm a few times. Big difference.

It's a matter of class vs. ass. Gibson had class and Batista is definitely an ass.

[Joshchisox08]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

The NBA is the worst. Every free throw, even the missed ones. Ridiculous.

NBA yest but NFL.................... again I can't fathom how anyone can stand that league.

Those guys break out in cheerleader moves after scoring.

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Well your future face of the game proves once again he is a classless douche bag...

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb-news...ong-jcole-gmod

Dave what'd I miss????

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by chaddurbin

this new guy and his showboating disrespecting the game...he's no joe dimaggio that's for sure. i don't know if he's gonna work out.

What exactly does this video show, do you know? I can't find the full video anywhere. Because to me, it looks like Mantle hit a fly ball easy-out and is pissed at himself, no?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

What exactly does this video show, do you know? I can't find the full video anywhere. Because to me, it looks like Mantle hit a fly ball easy-out and is pissed at himself, no?

I agree. That doesn't look anything like a celebration. Reminded me of Bo breaking the bat over his head.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

What exactly does this video show, do you know? I can't find the full video anywhere. Because to me, it looks like Mantle hit a fly ball easy-out and is pissed at himself, no?

I think the joke was that Mantle wouldn't be as good as DiMaggio, which was a common stance for those who saw Joltin' Joe play.

As for the bat toss, it looks to me like Mick meant to do something other than the clumsy flip that almost came back to smack him in the eye.

I "got" the joke almost immediately. Then again, I posted something a few hours ago that I also thought was funny. Perhaps my sense of humor is off.

[the 'stache]

I think Trout is the future face of baseball, if he's not already. Harper is the bad boy. If the Nats and Angels both become great teams, it will make for an interesting baseball rivalry.

I'm not a fan of Harper's walk up music, though. Doesn't make him a bad person, but it is disappointing that somebody in a position to influence kids would choose to send that message.

[packs]

If you listen to people's walk up music you will find that many people use similar walk up music all the time. It's just not pointed out to you. As was posted, take a look at Jeter's music choices. In my opinion, those choices say nothing about the person as an individual.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by packs

If you listen to people's walk up music you will find that many people use similar walk up music all the time. It's just not pointed out to you. As was posted, take a look at Jeter's music choices. In my opinion, those choices say nothing about the person as an individual. Everyone likes music they like. It rarely says anything about the person on a human level.

Aren't the lyrics part of what one likes, if one likes music? So I can like songs depicting women as bitches and hoes but that says nothing about me?

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

How about just running out your plays, Bryce? That would make me more excited about you. Oh, and baseball is doing better than ever, by the way. If you're bored, please go do something else, it doesn't need you. Really.

The knock on him his first two years was that he continually tried to make plays when nothing was there and would nick himself up. He failed to run one ball out in August of a disappointing season which led to a brawl with one of the biggest knuckleheads in the game. And the reason baseball is on the uptick is because it has the greatest influx of young talent the game has seen since the 1950's. Harper is at the top of the list and arguably one of the three most important players in the game. I'm all for the "un-written rules" debate and personally feel the game could use a little of both sides of the argument, but to slam Harper for a lack of hustle implies you haven't watched him at all.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

The knock on him his first two years was that he continually tried to make plays when nothing was there and would nick himself up. He failed to run one ball out in August of a disappointing season which led to a brawl with one of the biggest knuckleheads in the game. And the reason baseball is on the uptick is because it has the greatest influx of young talent the game has seen since the 1950's. Harper is at the top of the list and arguably one of the three most important players in the game. I'm all for the "un-written rules" debate and personally feel the game could use a little of both sides of the argument, but to slam Harper for a lack of hustle implies you haven't watched him at all.

I must have watched him a lot more than you, or you would have seen what I have. The Papelbon incident was one of many like that, at bat and in the field. He hustles like crazy when he feels like it, but will also fail to run out a ground ball or fly ball, or fail to come in quickly to field a hit in the outfield, and some of them have cost the team bases in close games. This attitude started spreading among the Nationals, and I saw both Escobar and Ramos either fail to run out fly balls or go into a home run trot on balls that hit the wall and stayed in play. He won the MVP on stats, but he actually might have been the least valuable player in terms of team unity and cohesion. Harper's an enormous talent, but he seems to consider himself above the game. Most Nats fans are thrilled to have such an exciting young talent on their team, but I'd rather win.

[irishdenny]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

How about just running out your plays, Bryce? That would make me more excited about you. Oh, and baseball is doing better than ever, by the way. If you're bored, please go do something else, it doesn't need you. Really.

Actually, it was Only One Play...

How about we mention Him Running Through the Wall.
oR
Sliding Head 1st inta 3rd & tearing up his thumb cartilage.

The Guys a Phenomenon in the Making!

What he said has a bit of truth to it.
Maybe he's as tired of the Steroid era as most of us are...
Maybe He's a Kid that just loves the game as much as we do
& just wants ta have some fun!?

I don't really know... But it Sounds Good

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by irishdenny

Actually, it was Only One Play...

How about we mention Him Running Through the Wall.
oR
Sliding Head 1st inta 3rd & tearing up his thumb cartilage.

The Guys a Phenomenon in the Making!

What he said has a bit of truth to it.
Maybe he's as tired of the Steroid era as most of us are...
Maybe He's a Kid that just loves the game as much as we do
& just wants ta have some fun!?

I don't really know... But it Sounds Good

Actually, it's been many plays he hasn't run out, or hasn't hustled to field, and it's cost the Nats bases in close games. Then this attitude started to spread to other players. An enormously talented team had a dysfunctional, poisonous season last year, and the most talented of them all just might be part of the reason.

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Actually, it's been many plays he hasn't run out, or hasn't hustled to field, and it's cost the Nats bases in close games. Then this attitude started to spread to other players. An enormously talented team had a dysfunctional, poisonous season last year, and the most talented of them all just might be part of the reason.

Hank,

We'll have to agree to disagree. Happy collecting.


“We're used to it,” said Ryan Zimmerman to Amanda Comak of the Washington Times following Monday's game. “I would rather him not go all-out into the wall, ever. But that's the way Bryce plays. That's the way he's always played, and I think some people look at it as a bad thing, maybe, and that's why people boo or don't like him. As a player and as someone who plays the game, if you play that hard every day, there's something to be said about that. And that's what Bryce does.”

[irishdenny]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Actually, it's been many plays he hasn't run out, or hasn't hustled to field, and it's cost the Nats bases in close games. Then this attitude started to spread to other players. An enormously talented team had a dysfunctional, poisonous season last year, and the most talented of them all just might be part of the reason.

It's certainly funny how 2 Folks can Differ...
But I will certainly Bow ta Your expertise...
Seein how You & Bryce are both Phenom's
I've had a lot of fun watchin about 70% of Washington's games
& Trackin Harper's Day ta Day Performance
fir the Last 3 years. I somehow miss'd what You've mention'd

No Worries Aye... Just a Game

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by irishdenny

The Guys a Phenomenon in the Making!

LOL, I love how that word is thrown around. I'm pretty sure they said the same thing about his teammate, Stephen Strasburg. How's that working out?

[bigtrain]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

How about just running out your plays, Bryce? That would make me more excited about you. Oh, and baseball is doing better than ever, by the way. If you're bored, please go do something else, it doesn't need you. Really.

I could not agree more. And furthermore... I wish every pitcher in the league reacted like he was Bob Gibson when a batter pulled that bat flip crap. Drill him.

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

How about just running out your plays, Bryce? That would make me more excited about you. Oh, and baseball is doing better than ever, by the way. If you're bored, please go do something else, it doesn't need you. Really.

Hank, I agree with you 100%. I have watched 95+% of the Washington Nationals games since the Expos relocated to DC, and I have noticed that Harper consistently half-heartedly jogs toward 1st base whenever he hits a popup or a ground ball that has no chance of being a base hit. Harper is not "Charley Hustle," except when he smells a base hit and/or extra bases.

Yes, Harper is tremendously talented. But, I'll take Trout over Harper every day. The Nats are my beloved home team, but quite frankly, the only time I root for Harper to do well is when the team is in desperate need for his production. It is said that there is no "i" in "team," but I suspect Harper thinks there is!

I'm not opposed to a bit more celebration and emotion being shown by MLB players, so long as it doesn't directly show up the opposition and doesn't begin to approach the level we see with the NBA and NFL.

Mostly, I'd like to see the game speeded up a bit more. I wonder how much total game time is consumed by batters adjusting their batting gloves, seemingly after every pitch - a simple solution to this would be to outlaw batting gloves.
Val

[Centauri]

If the Nats are tired of Harper, well my Indians would happily take him off your hands.

Harper is great for the sport, same for Bautista - that bat flip will become legendary. We need more color, not less.

[RTK]

Originally Posted by Centauri

If the Nats are tired of Harper, well my Indians would happily take him off your hands.

Harper is great for the sport, same for Bautista - that bat flip will become legendary. We need more color, not less.

...but at what point does it stop? I see it as catering to the lowest common denominator audience wise. Football is the worst. It isn't good enough to just celebrate touch downs, you have to celebrate every tackle, no matter the score of the game or it's situation. I see once the emotional celebrations are in the game guys will be celebrating everything to make ESPN highlights, Twitter and Facebook and just like football they'll practice celebrations to the point of correography. Walk up songs are bad enough.

[Louieman]

Originally Posted by RTK

...but at what point does it stop? I see it as catering to the lowest common denominator audience wise. Football is the worst. It isn't good enough to just celebrate touch downs, you have to celebrate every tackle, no matter the score of the game or it's situation. I see once the emotional celebrations are in the game guys will be celebrating everything to make ESPN highlights, Twitter and Facebook and just like football they'll practice celebrations to the point of correography. Walk up songs are bad enough.

I don't think it's fair to equate younger people and our use of technology as some form of narcissistic pandering to the lowest common denominator. It's just different, and it's a reflection of our technology, and our differences to the previous generation....which I believe has been happening since, ya know, the beginning of civilization.

That being said, Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen and Buster Posey are only a few years older than Bryce Harper. They carry themselves completely differently on the field. Yet they are still part of the same generation. My point is that I don't think Bryce is wrong when he says we should modernize the game. But my other point is that Bryce is a douchebag and so it's hard to take his thoughts seriously when he sets such a douchey example for the rest of his generation.