Bryce Harper lost his lid in the figurative and literal sense on Thursday night.
The Phillies star and most infamous MLB umpire Angel Hernandez are two of baseball's most colorful personalities, so it should be no surprise there were some fireworks on Thursday night.
The Phillies and Pirates were locked in a cross-state matchup, when Harper was called out on a check swing in the third inning. It wasn't the home plate umpire who made the call, though, third base ump Hernandez rung Harper up, much to the dismay of the outfielder.
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Harper, who was completely bamboozled by the called Strike 3 on the check swing, made a beeline to Hernandez, but barely got to the midway point to third base before he was sent to an early shower. While that was a garden variety dust-up featuring Hernandez, what happened next wasn't.
Bryce was just ejected for being correct pic.twitter.com/NUDPF9OOOB
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 28, 2023
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Harper made his way to the dugout after getting his money's worth, and after he was tossed, did some tossing of his own, throwing his batting helmet into the seats near Philly's dugout.
The helmet was snagged by a 10-year-old fan, and the lid was signed by Harper with some other pleasantries thrown on.
Following the game, Harper let his thoughts known on the controversial ump.
"Just Angel in the middle of something again. It's just every year, it's the same story, same thing," Harper said. "I'm probably going to get a letter from Michael Hill, and I'm going to get fined for being right again. It's the same thing over and over and over and over again. It's just not right."
Harper getting ejected isn't anything new: His career ejection total is now inching towards 20, with his early shower on Thursday night the 17th of his career.
The Phillies clinched a postseason berth, so Harper surely doesn't have too much else to be mad about. He's likely hoping that Hernandez doesn't draw an assignment in the "City of Brotherly Love" come October.
