ANALYSIS/OPINION:
It’s not surprising that one of the players who criticized Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper for his comments in ESPN The Magazine that baseball was a “tired” sport and needed more “flair” was reliever Sergio Romo of the San Francisco Giants.
“Don’t put your foot in your mouth when you’re the face of the game and you just won the MVP,” Romo told the San Jose Mercury News. “I’m sorry, but just shut up.”
Harper created a national conversation about baseball’s so-called “unwritten” rules and the lack of showmanship — or showboating, depending on your point of view.
“Baseball’s tired,” Harper said. “It’s a tired sport, because you can’t express yourself. You can’t do what people in other sports do. I’m not saying baseball is, you know, boring or anything like that, but it’s the excitement of the young guys who are coming into the game now who have flair.
“If a guy pimps a homer for a game-winning shot … I mean — sorry,” Harper continued. “If a guy pumps his fist at me on the mound, I’m going to go, ’Yeah, you got me. Good for you. Hopefully I get you next time.’ That’s what makes the game fun. You want kids to play the game, right? What are kids playing these days? Football, basketball. Look at those players — Steph Curry, LeBron James. It’s exciting to see those players in those sports. Cam Newton — I love the way Cam goes about it. He smiles, he laughs. It’s that flair. The dramatic.”
To which Romo responded, “As emotional and as fiery as I am, I do my best not to look to the other dugout,” he said. “I look to the ground, I look to my dugout, to the sky, to the stands. It’s warranted to be excited. But there is a way to go about it to not show disrespect, not only to the other team but the game itself.
“I don’t agree that being able to put your hands up when you hit a 500-foot home run or punching somebody out and then staring them down, I’m sorry, it doesn’t add flair to the game,” Romo said. “That’s showing up the other guy.”
Romo’s comments might surprise some since he is as demonstrative a player as you’ll see on the field. But, he is a member of a team that, in the process of winning three World Series championships over five years, is most-definitely old school, and he showed contempt for the Nationals during the National League Division Series between the two teams in 2014.
The Giants didn’t exactly “shut up” during that series. Before they even took the field, San Francisco starting pitcher Tim Hudson questioned Washington’s toughness when he said, “Obviously, they have a talented group over there, there’s no question. They have some great pitching. But, come playoff time, talent can take you a long ways, but what do you have between your legs?”
That theme continued from the Giants bench throughout the series, as they referred to some Nationals players in terms that can’t be printed here. It was clear the Giants didn’t particularly think much of the Nationals.
I can’t help but believe that Harper’s comments about the game aren’t going to change anyone’s minds in San Francisco, and likely a few other teams as well.
So what, you may say. Neanderthals, all of them. It’s 2016, it’s Hammer Time, the game needs to change with the times, and that’s fine. I already think that evolution has been taking place, if you haven’t been paying attention to the hand-puppet signals players give to their teammates on the bench after reaching second base on a double.
But if you’re a Nationals fan and you want to deal with the practical — your team and its success, not changing the culture of the game — the question should be, among others, this:
What will happen when — not if — Harper finds himself the target of a Madison Bumgarner fastball or some other pitcher during his culture-changing mission while he is “pimping” a home run? What if the pitcher isn’t as enlightened as Harper?
What will he do then? Will he seek protection or simply turn the other cheek?
Will he look down the bench teammates for help, and they look back at him and, “Hey, Gandhi, don’t look at us. You’re the one who said this stuff was tired. You’re on your own.”
Was Harper really talking about changing the game, or was he simply saying, “I want to pimp my home runs without worrying about being a target?”
Whatever he was saying, Harper has now earned the right to say it. He is the National League MVP, and with that comes status and a platform to be heard. He will have more to say. Good for him.
⦁ Thom Loverro is co-host of “The Sports Fix,” noon to 2 p.m. daily on ESPN 980 and espn980.com.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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