Bryce Harper

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

How about just running out your plays, Bryce? That would make me more excited about you. Oh, and baseball is doing better than ever, by the way. If you're bored, please go do something else, it doesn't need you. Really.

Hank, I agree with you 100%. I have watched 95+% of the Washington Nationals games since the Expos relocated to DC, and I have noticed that Harper consistently half-heartedly jogs toward 1st base whenever he hits a popup or a ground ball that has no chance of being a base hit. Harper is not "Charley Hustle," except when he smells a base hit and/or extra bases.

Yes, Harper is tremendously talented. But, I'll take Trout over Harper every day. The Nats are my beloved home team, but quite frankly, the only time I root for Harper to do well is when the team is in desperate need for his production. It is said that there is no "i" in "team," but I suspect Harper thinks there is!

I'm not opposed to a bit more celebration and emotion being shown by MLB players, so long as it doesn't directly show up the opposition and doesn't begin to approach the level we see with the NBA and NFL.

Mostly, I'd like to see the game speeded up a bit more. I wonder how much total game time is consumed by batters adjusting their batting gloves, seemingly after every pitch - a simple solution to this would be to outlaw batting gloves.
Val

[Centauri]

If the Nats are tired of Harper, well my Indians would happily take him off your hands.

Harper is great for the sport, same for Bautista - that bat flip will become legendary. We need more color, not less.

[RTK]

Originally Posted by Centauri

If the Nats are tired of Harper, well my Indians would happily take him off your hands.

Harper is great for the sport, same for Bautista - that bat flip will become legendary. We need more color, not less.

...but at what point does it stop? I see it as catering to the lowest common denominator audience wise. Football is the worst. It isn't good enough to just celebrate touch downs, you have to celebrate every tackle, no matter the score of the game or it's situation. I see once the emotional celebrations are in the game guys will be celebrating everything to make ESPN highlights, Twitter and Facebook and just like football they'll practice celebrations to the point of correography. Walk up songs are bad enough.

[Louieman]

Originally Posted by RTK

...but at what point does it stop? I see it as catering to the lowest common denominator audience wise. Football is the worst. It isn't good enough to just celebrate touch downs, you have to celebrate every tackle, no matter the score of the game or it's situation. I see once the emotional celebrations are in the game guys will be celebrating everything to make ESPN highlights, Twitter and Facebook and just like football they'll practice celebrations to the point of correography. Walk up songs are bad enough.

I don't think it's fair to equate younger people and our use of technology as some form of narcissistic pandering to the lowest common denominator. It's just different, and it's a reflection of our technology, and our differences to the previous generation....which I believe has been happening since, ya know, the beginning of civilization.

That being said, Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen and Buster Posey are only a few years older than Bryce Harper. They carry themselves completely differently on the field. Yet they are still part of the same generation. My point is that I don't think Bryce is wrong when he says we should modernize the game. But my other point is that Bryce is a douchebag and so it's hard to take his thoughts seriously when he sets such a douchey example for the rest of his generation.

[chaddurbin]

Originally Posted by RTK

...but at what point does it stop? I see it as catering to the lowest common denominator audience wise. Football is the worst. It isn't good enough to just celebrate touch downs, you have to celebrate every tackle, no matter the score of the game or it's situation. I see once the emotional celebrations are in the game guys will be celebrating everything to make ESPN highlights, Twitter and Facebook and just like football they'll practice celebrations to the point of correography. Walk up songs are bad enough.

football players are literally killing themselves out there for your entertainment, they get into multiple car wrecks every week...if they want to do a little celebration after a play because they didn't break their neck then more power to them.

color me shock that on a primarily pre-ww1 baseball board people are oppose to the rich, spoiled, out of touch modern superstar who wants to make the game more fun for everyone. let's go to the beckett super refractor board for their thoughts...i'm sure their opinions mirror this board.

[Beastmode]

There's a becket super refractor board?

[packs]

Everyone keeps bringing up Bautista. Does no one remember why he flipped his bat? He'd just given his team the go-ahead and eventual lead that would send them into the ALCS and have him playing for the pennant. If you can't celebrate that, what can you celebrate? It wasn't just some routine homer in a mid-June game.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by packs

Everyone keeps bringing up Bautista. Does no one remember why he flipped his bat? He'd just given his team the go-ahead and eventual lead that would send them into the ALCS and have him playing for the pennant. If you can't celebrate that, what can you celebrate? It wasn't just some routine homer in a mid-June game.

I am a traditionalist but I have no issue with the bat flip, I thought it was pretty cool actually. An exclamation point.

[irishdenny]

Originally Posted by packs

Everyone keeps bringing up Bautista. Does no one remember why he flipped his bat? He'd just given his team the go-ahead and eventual lead that would send them into the ALCS and have him playing for the pennant. If you can't celebrate that, what can you celebrate? It wasn't just some routine homer in a mid-June game.

Yeah Buddy...
If You Watched that game, & I did!
You would of been Well Entertained, fur sure!

The Most Screwed up inning I've Ever Laid Eyes On!!!

That Bat Flip was Completed Warranted... In the Moment Aye!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofS09rcM-_Q