Let The Wall Win, Bam Bam

The photo you see on the left was taken when Washington Nationals wunderkind Bryce Harper ran into this outfield wall at full gallop in an attempt to catch a fly ball. I’d tell you he hit the wall hard, but that would do an injustice to how Harper plays baseball, so let me say he clobbered the wall hard. Proving finally to all, except perhaps to himself, that he is indeed human, the wall stayed put, and it was Harper who bounced off it and went down. He stayed down while the team’s manager, trainer and center fielder came to check on him. What they saw was a facial gash that required eleven stitches to close. Although Harper walked off the field under his own power, an examination later revealed that he had a sore left knee and a bruised neck. Thankfully, he had not suffered a concussion. It was estimated he would miss a few games, and that would be that. 

Now we know that wasn’t the case. Before I continue, however, I have to explain Harper’s nickname. It was taken from the old Flintstones TV show, in which married couple Barney and Betty adopted a four year old they called Bam Bam. The youngster possessed super strength and a tendency to shout, “Bam Bam.” Now we all know that anyone who can say “that’s a clown question, Bro,” as Harper did in response to a reporter’s question last season, has the ability to say much more than “Bam Bam.” So it is Harper’s strength, speed and ferocious style of play, and not his manner of speech, that makes the nickname appropriate. In short, Bryce Harper plays baseball like a man possessed.

And it is that very style of play, so dramatically demonstrated in the Bam Bam vs Wall matter, that is at the heart of this post. You see, it turns out that the impact to Harper’s left knee on the play caused bursitis. He has been placed on the disabled list while it heals. He has missed many games due to the injury and will miss more. In that time, the Nationals have floundered, and for good reason. Bryce Harper is the team’s best hitter, and to the extent that a twenty-year old can, he had been carrying the Nationals prior to this injury.

I hope Bam Bam never changes his physical style of play, because that’s part of what makes him special. However, a great many baseball fans, and that includes me because Bryce Harper is my favorite player, want him to learn from this injury and modify his mental approach so that he can stay in the lineup. Take a good look at the upper left corner of the picture above, which indicates the Nationals were leading by six runs when the injury occurred. Catching the ball would have been nice but it certainly wasn’t mandatory. The game would not have been lost, at least not at that moment, if Bam Bam had let the ball hit the wall, played the bounce and held the hitter to a double. But that’s small potatoes compared to a knee injury, which can be problematic and doesn’t always respond quickly to treatment and rest. With that in mind, I’ll conclude this post the same way I started it, in case there’s a next time.

Let the wall win, Bam Bam.