Bryce Harper won’t be disciplined by Nationals for kissing incident
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Bryce Harper will not be disciplined by the Washington Nationals for blowing a kiss at an opposing pitcher while rounding the bases after hitting a home run Monday night, the Washington Post reports.
Playing for Single-A Hagerstown, the National’s top draft pick (and No. 1 overall) from a year ago hit a home run off Greensboro pitcher Zach Neal and spent some time admiring the hit before slowly rounding the bases. Neal reportedly let Harper know of his displeasure, which is when Harper responded with the blown kiss.
While Harper is getting a lot of attention from the incident -- his name is currently No. 2 on Google Trends -- the Nationals organization is not blowing it out of proportion. Their top prospect will be back in the Hagerstown lineup Tuesday, batting third and playing in the outfield.
“It’s something that we’re going to handle internally,” said Doug Harris, Nationals director of player development. “For us, it’s a teaching moment. We’ve got our arms around this.”
Harris added: “This does not impact thought process, or our decision going forward. Bryce is a wonderful kid. His passion, energy and his competitiveness are among the best I’ve ever been around.”
-- Chuck Schilken
The Sports Xchange contributed to this report.
