Bryce Harper thinks umpire is too soft to be an umpire, a breakdown
What Happened
In the top of the third inning, the Philadelphia Phillies hold a 4-0 lead over their opponent. Phillies star Bryce Harper steps to the plate with two outs and a 1-1 count. The next pitch from the opposing pitcher is a high fastball that the umpire calls a strike, despite data showing it was outside the strike zone. Harper is visibly frustrated with the call, believing the umpire is being "too soft" to make proper decisions. He expresses his displeasure, saying "Come on, man, what?" as he questions the umpire's judgement. Harper understands the significance of the 2-1 count in this at-bat, as the data shows that hitters perform significantly better after a 3-1 count compared to a 2-2 count. Bryce Harper, the Phillies' star outfielder, is having an impressive season. After a 3-1 pitch, his batting average is .364 with a .702 on-base percentage and 1.293 OPS. However, his numbers drop significantly to a .278 on-base percentage after 2-2 counts. The umpire's questionable call has now put Harper in a less favorable position, allowing the pitcher to potentially "dance around the zone" and make Harper more likely to swing at pitches outside the strike zone. Frustrated by the call, Harper swings and misses at the next pitch, a curveball that "just goes, whoop, bam." He reacts by chucking his bat and helmet, beginning to take off his gloves as if he's preparing to further confront the umpire. Harper then turns to the umpire and says, "No way in hell. No, that's not a strike," before the umpire ejects him from the game. As Harper is being ejected, he continues to express his displeasure, saying, "You're soft. You shouldn't be a fucking umpire." The Phillies' coach attempts to intervene, but Harper is adamant in his criticism of the umpire's decision-making and professionalism. This confrontation between Bryce Harper and the umpire highlights the high stakes and intense emotions involved in Major League Baseball, where even a single pitch call can have a significant impact on the game's outcome and a player's performance.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentBryce Harper thinks this umpire is too soft to be an umpire.
This breakdown is brought to you by Scott's Miracle-Gro.
Let's get into it.
Top of the third, Phillies are up 4-0.
There's two outs, 0-1 count.
The next pitch, fastball outside, evens the count, 1-1, back in Bryce's favor.
And then he doesn't swing at that curveball, 2-1.
He's working the count.
This next pitch is pretty big, 2-1 pitches, very big.
I'll show you the stats in a second.
He's going to go high fastball, and the ump calls it a strike, and Bryce is like,
come on, man, what?
Here's the pitch, and it's high.
Data says it's out of the zone.
Now, here's why the 2-1 pitch is the most important.
These are MLB League splits for the year.
After a 2-2 pitch, the average batting average is 182, a 293 on base percentage,
a 298 slugging, 591 OPS.
But after a 3-1 count, the numbers get a lot better.
252 batting average.
Look at the on-base percentage.
It goes from 293 to 594.
The slugging jumps up, and the OPS nearly doubles.
So, the 2-1 pitch is the biggest swing pitch of an at-bat.
And when you lay off a ball that's out of the zone and the umpire calls it a strike,
it really changes the atmosphere.
Now, if you go even further and look at just teams,
after a 2-2 pitch, the Phillies, they're 12th in MLB with a 604 OPS
and a 308 on-base percentage.
But if you look at the Phillies after a 3-1 pitch,
they're the second-best team in baseball, a 302 batting average, a 1.195 OPS.
Let's go even further and look at Bryce Harper's splits.
Well, after a 3-1 pitch, he's...
Fucking so good.
364 batting average.
702 on-base percentage.
702 on-base percentage after 3-1 pitches.
1.293 after 2-2 pitches.
It's not the same.
It's a 278 on-base percentage.
So, that pitch being called incorrectly in that count is the most drastic effect
a single pitch can have in the swing.
Besides maybe the first pitch.
So, that's why Harper's like, come on.
That is massively different.
Now, the pitcher gets to throw more junk and dance around the zone
and entice Harper to swing.
And he's going to throw a really nice curveball that just goes, whoop, bam.
And Harper swings, chucks the bat, chucks the helmet.
He's going to start taking his gloves off.
Throw some more shit.
Toss them.
And while they're yelling that, Harper turns and says something like,
uh...
No way in hell.
No, that's not a strike.
And the umpire just ejects him.
And Harper's like, oh, are you serious?
What?
He's like, I tried to tell you.
I tried to tell you.
I don't know how he could have warned him in time.
I tried to tell you.
And Harper goes, so you throw me out, right?
Get off me.
Poor coach going Dean Porton on him on the way to the penalty box.
Hey, don't touch me.
How the fuck you throw me out for that?
I didn't say anything.
For what?
You're soft.
I didn't.
I'm allowed to throw.
I'm allowed to throw my stuff.
He's actually not.
He can get fined for it, but usually they don't get ejected for simply that.
I don't know what he said.
If he said the U word, whatever.
But now Harper says, you're soft.
You're so soft.
You shouldn't be a fucking umpire.
That's how it ends.
Bryce Harper giving some career advice on his way out.
Recently, my career took a little bit of a turn.
I started doing play-by-play for 11-year-old wiffleball games.
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And I kicked it off by doing play-by-play for a wiffleball game on the live stream,
which is the Lawn Stream.
They have a whole series of live backyard events.
I did wiffleball.
They got cornhole coming up.
They're building birdhouses.
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Thanks for watching, guys.
I appreciate it.
Enjoy your days.