The Nationals announced today that they have suspended Jonathan Papelbon, without pay, for four game’s following last night’s dugout altercation with Bryce Harper. That suspension, in addition to a three-game suspension for throwing at Manny Machado (Papelbon has dropped his appeal of that league-mandated suspension), will keep him out of games for the remainder of the year.
“The behavior exhibited by Papelbon yesterday is not acceptable,” GM/president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo said in a release announcing the move. “That is not at all in line with the way our players are expected to conduct themselves, and the Nationals organization will not tolerate it in any way.”
Papelbon’s outburst, in which he grabbed Harper by the throat after the two exchanged heated words following a Harper fly-out which he didn’t run out particularly quickly (video link), was the source of a good deal of controversy and a number of reactions/far-reaching implications last night. Papelbon’s suspensions — one league-issued and one team-issued — will cost him a total of just over $497K in salary.
From a big-picture standpoint, one can’t help but wonder what this means for Papelbon’s future in D.C. Already, there’s been speculation that Papelbon will be either traded or, more drastically, released. He’s owed $11MM in 2016 after restructuring his contract as incentive to waive his no-trade rights. Based strictly on his on-field performance, that sum may not be exorbitant, but when paired with a reputation that was already poor prior to this recent wave of drama, the Nats will be hard-pressed to find a taker for his services. That’s not to say it’s impossible, but I’d imagine that Rizzo will need to include a fair amount of cash to facilitate the move, making the entire acquisition look particularly regrettable.
He’s going to get booed when he’s brought in to pitch next year (at least the first few games), and if he ever blows a game, which is inevitable, he will get booed even more. Between the Harper incident, his reputation, and his performance as a National, the fans have already made up their minds about him. It’s going to be a messy situation to have him on the roster next year, and the only option is to get rid of him at this point.
Needed to happen. If the Nats can’t get rid of him then they needed to lay down the law. Paps needs to worry about his own performance, not worry about whether or not Harper is giving it his all.
Two hot-heads=one suspension. The math doesn’t add up.
The only thing Harper did wrong was not run out the play. That’s not an issue for Papelbon to bring up let alone attack him over, it’s an issue for Williams later in the clubhouse.
Harper lingered a bit at the plate (out of frustration) but he did go to first base. The guy has done everything in his power to try to carry that team to the playoffs. I think he’s the last guy his teammates (especially pap) should be getting on.
I agree and oh by the way as a general note, Harper did indeed “run out” the play, he was just slow out of the box after expressing some frustration, like 100’s of hitters do every single day. Papelbon had no problem with Ortiz not sprinting out of the box in Boston, nope, this is a pathetic chest puffing play by Pap after Harper tried to be mature in calling out the notoriously callous and idiotic headhunting that goes on in MLB.
If anything we should explore more what Harper was talking about regarding retaliation.
Being mature would have been handling it in the clubhouse and not in the media.
Especially when the person you are talking about is a know hot head. the whole incident doesn’t happen if Harper keeps his mouth shut.
Getting choked by a known troublemaker is Harper’s fault?! Papelbon has no right to call out Harper, a guy leading the NL in average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, tied for first in homers, and the clear MVP. Harper’s played over 1,200 innings out there this year. Papelbon’s pitched what, 60? And Papelbon’s been a Nat for a few weeks. Guys like Zimm and Werth can have a word, but Papelbon’s got zero right.
Yeesh, the amount of unfortunate real world implications in this comment…
Not trying to take up for Ortiz here, but you can’t really compare ortiz and Harper there. Sure.. Ortiz is going to dog it on his homers, that’s a given. Groundballs and his ankles/knees? Remember, he has already blown out an Achilles tendon just 2y ago and has chronic trouble with both ankles as it is, has to rest them all the time. He’s not going to push it every time just to make every opposing fan happy.
The guy will be 40 years old in 2 months. Sox fans want his bat as long as possible, they will accept (gladly) his possibly losing 3-4 lost chances of not getting to 1b for some reason each year because he didn’t run out a ground ball that appeared to be an out. That is nothing new the last 3-4 seasons. Baby those ankles and knees and keep that sweet swing as long as Boston can.
Harper still would have been safe if the ball had dropped, but no, he wasn’t sprinting.
This actually all stems from Harper not being happy about Machado being hit, figuring he’d be hit the next game. Harper said what has needed to be said for a long time. It’s easy to follow the unwtitten rules of baseball when it’s your teammates that have to.pay for your actions. Position players should speak out against their own pitchers more often.
I’m going to assume you didn’t see either game. Firstly, Harper actually was on the bag at first when the ball was caught so the whole issue about “hustle” is ridiculous. Could he have rounded first and gone for a double? Sure, but then people would be putting him down for trying to look like a hot dog on a routine play.
Secondly, in regards to the Orioles game, Manny Machado smacked a 98 mph fastball out of the park on a nice bit of hitting. Nothing more, nothing less (and I’m not a Machado fan). Papelbon had no reason whatsoever to throw at his head (which he did twice by the way). I honestly have to wonder if Papelbon is on steroids… he sures shows all of the signs.
The players have that right. But Harper was stupid for not keeping it in the club house. You can’t publicly embarrass someone like Papelbon and not expect him to do something in response.
Are you kidding? Harper was completely correct. Paps made a bonehead decision and was even given a 3-game suspension by the MLB for it. And Harper’s right that he’s the one facing retaliation when Papelbon decides to “enforce the unwritten rules”.
Two hot-heads minus one prima donna equals one suspension. Hasn’t Harper been benched for this before?
He ran to first!!!! He would have been safe if the ball dropped. What Harper did was nothing more than any of our favorite players do after hitting a lazy fly ball. Watch the video.
Does that make it right? Pitchers brush back hitters, Hitters don’t like it and Harper took exception to it. Hitters don’t run out fly balls. Pitchers don’t like it and Paps took exception to it.
Pap has been there only a few weeks and is calling out the MVP. Even if he laid down and did snow angels in the dirt, let someone else call him out. The idea that a closer that pitches 75 innings per year is calling out a position player that’s making a lot less than him is beyond me. Closers, even elite ones, are the most replaceable position in MLB. Pap needs to know that. They’re place kickers with intro music and credibility.
The Nats had the paper World Series wrapped up in April. They’ve just been making public appearances since. I doubt they’ll miss him
I suspect his “suspension” will last through the 2016 season as far as the Nationals are concerned.
Good thing Rick Schu with his Kung Schu grip did not get a hold of him.
There are two facts here that everyone needs to accept before you can have a conversation about what happened here.
First, Bryce Harper ran to first base.
Second, assault is a crime in all contexts without exception.
I don’t disagree but here is an interesting question. You are walking in a park
and said something to irritate a couple of people playing catch and one of them threw the baseball at you and hit you. Is that assault? Is that assault and battery? If it is,then why is it not considered an assault in baseball?
Getting hit by a ball is an accepted risk of playing the game.
Getting choked isnt.
But to your origonal point: if someone throws a ball at your head when you’re walking through the park, that is also assault, and some may say with a deadly weapon.
I’m assuming you’re wondering why there aren’t criminal charges. If it is or isn’t assault and battery really isn’t the question. The question is can you prove intent to hit and injure beyond a reasonable doubt. The person throwing the ball would argue that was accidental, and its exceptionally hard to prove that it wasn’t. In the rare occasions where it is so heinous to be a clear intent to injure (such as with Todd Bertuzzi and Marty McSorley) there have been charges filed.
Its about time someone stood up to Harper…he never runs out a pop fly. I dont like Paps anymore than the next person, but enough is enough. Obviously whatever Williams is saying, hasnt worked. Maybe someone else’s voice will awake him
Pap is a nut but if he really did it because Harper was dogging it I have to give him some credit. If Ryan Zimmerman did this to someone a ways back they might be in a better spot right now
This won’t change who Harper is. FYI, a lot of baseball “greats” didn’t run out ground balls or fly balls. Ted Williams is known for dogging it out there but nobody will saying anything about it because he’s a “hero”. I HATE Harper but to think he’s one of few would be quite naive.
Its about time someone stood up to how dated and ridiculous that opinion is.
Papelbon hit Machado for staring down a HR. Harper (rightfully) didn’t like it knowing he would be the one getting hit the next day if there was retaliation. That is what all this comes from.
Maybe Harper, the one that thinks throwing at a player’s head is not good, is the mature one?
Head? Didn’t Machado get hit in the arm? Isn’t the bicep at the top of the strike zone?
Not really. A mature person would have kept it behind closed doors and not tried to humiliate a team mate in public.
Oh like Papelbon did.
I won’t disagree that someone needs to put Harper in his place but that’s a job for the vets and especially the manager after the game and off the field, not in the dugout during a game while lunging for his throat.
Furthermore Paps is going off the deep end. His attack on Harper comes days after throwing at Machado at a point where he had no right to. Paps always wanted to be the rockstar closer. Now he’s the rockstar who’s trashing hotel rooms and annoying everyone.
I agree, but that’s what can happen when you have a beef with a teammate and take it to the media instead of taking care of it in the clubhouse. Harper could learn a valuable lesson here if people refuse to make excuses for him.
You have no idea what you’re talking about.
jkunkle – you really do need to watch some Nats games before you make that comment. Harper plays hard, every game, all the time. He’s the guy the Nats had to rein in to try to get him not totry so hard. Otherwise, he was running into fences. He’s far more valuable uninjured on the field.
Let’s see….Harper is putting up arguably the best offensive season since Barry Bonds was playing baseball. Papelbon just allowed five runs in an inning. Kudos to Harper for not being the one doing the choking.
You’re a little off, Pap gave up most of those runs after the incident, where he was inexplicably allowed to stay in the game because Williams doesn’t care about managing this team anymore.
that game was a total choke job by both Papelbon AND Williams…
Bryce Harper handled himself quite well in that altercation, I think.
Harper most definitely “ran out” the play – people need to check the videos. He stood at home a couple seconds more than usual because he was frustrated at the popup, but Josh Reddick does this same move with literally every out he makes, only with the addition of screaming every swear word in existence at the top of his lungs. But no one cares about Reddick or anyone doing this. They care about Harper because Harper is the new Barry Bonds.
Anyone know if Papelbon’s 2016 option included a no trade clause?
It was guaranteed as part of the trade. Just a a bit lower value.
Too bad the Nationals had no idea what kind of guy Papelbon is before they brought him on board to save their flailing season … oh wait …
Yes, Papelbon was definitely a clown move, bro.
I’m still getting over Papelbon’s display in such a public forum. If you want to throw a fit and lash out, wait until you’re in the clubhouse, not when it’s in the dugout and the game is telecast to thousands or millions. Makes the Billy Martin-Reggie Jackson thing look tame.
and here i thought the 2011-12 red sox had problems
Are you high?
Papelbon is a bully pure and simple. I do not feel sorry for him and grabbing anybody by the throat is unacceptable. Ok, Harper didn’t run hard. I get it. Obviously Papelbon needs to get it.
aaand the post I replied to is gone but my reply got reparented. Nothing to see here.
You see fights like this in practice on the Seattle Seahawks and many other teams. It was a “heat of the moment” event.
If Harper is truly cool with Papelbon and truly considers it a fight among brothers (his words, not mine), then I don’t see a problem.
But if Harper and his teammates can’t take Papelbon in the clubhouse anymore, then he has to go.
These players get paid millions to entertain. Once one of the fans golden boy ( Harper) gets in an altercation , people start freaking out. Both players are idiots. Papi casually calling him on him not running it out. Stupid reason, but did so in a casual manner. Harper , as soon as he got in the dug out; started yelling at papi. Told him ( as you can clearly see in the video ) ” you wanna go? I’ll fight you in…. ” papi then called him out for being a loud mouth punk. Sounds like Harper’s butt hurt to me . kid needed a little Natitude adjustment. And before you Harper Nazis start bashing me for having an opinion. I just want to let you know you’re crying over two men who really don’t give a shit about us or our opinions. They’re loaded with money. So get over it.