The National League East pennant race just got a little more interesting Saturday night, thanks to Bryce Harper.
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The Washington Nationals star outfielder came up to bat against the Atlanta Braves and intentionally dragged his foot across the Braves' "A" logo imprinted in the dirt behind home plate.
The Nationals led the Braves by 3 ½ games heading into game two of their three-game series on Saturday. If any of the Braves saw Harper defacing the logo, they didn't do anything about it. Atlanta just ended an eight-game losing streak with a 7-6 win over the Nationals on Friday night and could've have deemed it too important not to let on a baserunner in a game critical to their postseason chances.
Harper is no stranger to controversy. He had been fighting rumors that he might get sent down to the minors because of a recent batting slump that had pushed his season average below .250.
First-year Nationals manager Matt Williams helped ignite the controversy in an interview with a local radio station when he was asked a semi-hypothetical question about whether some time in the minors could help him.
Williams' problem was that he did not emphatically deny the idea.
"I don't know," Williams answered, as reported by the Washington Post. "I don't think it's stupid. Generally, if you have young players, that's what you do. But this guy is a special young player. We all know that. It's different...But I don't know if it's a good idea at this point to do that, because it's completely different pitching. We all know the big difference between Triple A pitching and big league pitching. It's probably more of an option to have him feel good here, get it back."
Harper responded by hitting a game-winning home run Thursday night against the New York Mets.
"I've been feeling pretty good lately," Harper insisted to USA TODAY Sports. "Everybody's been picking up my slack. It's nice that we're winning ballgames. My results are my results. I just want to come here, relax, smile, have some fun."
Now, Harper has added a bit more pressure on himself to perform.
Do you think Bryce Harper scraping the Atlanta Braves' "A" logo with his foot is a big deal? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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