MLB superstar has perfect, brutal response after being called 'overrated'
Love him or hate him, one thing has never been up for debate: Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper is a special player.
The fact of the matter is, very few professional baseball players get called up to the major leagues at the ripe young age of 19, then win the Rookie of the Year Award, like Harper did in 2012.
Not many 22-year-olds can hit .330, with 42 home runs and a .460 OBP. But that’s exactly what Harper did in 2015, on his way to winning the National League MVP award.
And finally, it’s extremely rare for a player to be named to five All-Star teams before his 25th birthday.
Again, though, Harper is not your average superstar.
So, the way the right fielder responded on Sunday after a Cincinnati Reds fan called him “overrated” really shouldn’t come as any surprise.
It was the top of the ninth inning, and the Nationals were leading the Reds 5-3. Harper was up at bat facing Cincinnati reliever Raisel Iglesias, having already homered in the sixth inning and made a nice sliding catch to rob Billy Hamilton of a hit in the third inning.
Right before Iglesias delivered the 2-2 pitch, a Reds fan yelled out, “overrated.” Harper wasted little time in showing the fan why that wasn’t quite true.
On the very next pitch, Harper drove to the ball to deep center for his second long home run of the game. “Overrate this,” MASN announcer Bob Carpenter said.
1. Bryce Harper's up…
2. Someone yells "OVERRATED."
3. Bryce launches his SECOND HR of the game. pic.twitter.com/BTttlni4M2
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 1, 2018
Harper ended up going 2-for-4 in the Nationals 6-5 win, and he also collected a walk. Though the season is still young, Harper has been amazing thus far, batting .400 with an OPS of 1.429.
After the game, Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Harper’s monster day at the plate wasn’t really a surprise.
“I mean, it’s Bryce Harper,” Martinez said, according to MLB.com. He had good at-bats. I told him his sacrifice flies were key for him. Just staying on the ball, not striking out, putting the ball in play at times. I said, ‘You can drive in runs without getting a hit.’ But today, you saw Bryce Harper being Bryce Harper.”
Harper himself, meanwhile, said he was just focused on getting some good pitches to hit.
“Just trying to get some pitches over the plate,” Harper said. “Not chase and try to do some things in the box that lets me do damage. If I can get a pitch over the plate, I’ll do damage.”
Overrated or not, Harper is one of the best players in the game, and next offseason, he’ll finally get paid like one.
With the 2018 free agent class likely to be one of the best in recent history, Harper might even become the first player ever to get a contract worth $400 million.
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