Steve Davis: Bryce Harper Should Be Suspended
Bryce Harper was ejected from Monday night's Nationals game for screaming at the umpire from the dugout.
In the 4th inning, he was called out on strikes and was not happy, although the graphic box generated on TV seemed to indicate it was a strike. In the 9th, his teammate Danny Espinosa was called out on strikes. Again, the replay showed that a strike was a reasonable call. Harper was among those screaming from the bench and was thrown out. That's not what should get him suspended. What happened next should do it, though.
Harper's teammate Clint Robinson hit a walk-off home run. So, Harper should be happy. As the Nats mobbed Robinson at homeplate, Harper ran out to join in the celebration, turned to the ump and appeared to bark "f*** you!" to the ump. To me, he needs to be suspended for that.
Now, if Harper said that was a terrible f'ing call, or that pitch was an f'ing ball...he's just venting. However, to tell an umpire "f*** you", for me, that's about as insulting and disrespectful as it gets. Harper is a great player and has a chance to be the face of the game, but you can't get caught on camera on national TV telling an umpire that.
For me, a brief, one-game suspension should come next.
