Cole Hamels vs. Bryce Harper

[indytraveler]

Anyone see the bean ball incident over the weekend? Hamels gets a 5 game suspension for admitting he hit Bryce Harper. Looks like Hamels is trying to toughen up his street cred.

Really? Saying you're old school should have gotten you off the hook? The only one who acted professionally was the 19 yr old Harper. He got hit shook it off, took his base then later scored off of Hamels pick off attempt at first base. Harper then gave props to Hamels after the game when asked about the incident. What maturity for a kid. Obviously Hamels was afraid the kid was going to launch a ball off him, and that's why he hit him in the back.

If anything comes out of this, the league should now look at each beanball and issue suspensions. All they have to do is look at the tape of this pitch and compare to any other this season and see the similarities between the two and know exactly when a pitcher is throwing at a batter.


Hamels broke an unwritten rule by admitting to it after the game, I thought you said you were old school. Old schoolers know the unwritten rules like the back of their hand. Rule #1 deny deny deny any wrong doings (what an idiot).

Anyone else have any thoughts?

[Melanie]

(what an idiot).

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Those are my thoughts.

Have always despised the dude anyway. This incident just reinforces.

[Quadstriker]

Hamels is a gutless punk. I've got a lot of other words to say about him, but they're probably not fit for this forum. Great idea for a pitcher on a last place team to start throwing bean balls around. Yeah that won't catch up with him at all...

Big props to Harper for stealing home on his weak lazy pick off

[sportsguy2315]

What I find sad (More than the whole Hamels situation, but pitchers in general) is that its a 5 game suspension which equates to just one start. Especially for this Hamels situation, but the way Bryce handled this situation speaks volumes for the person he is on and off the field.

[PirateLover]

Disclaimer: I am a Phillies fan.

As soon as I heard Hamels admit he did it on purpose I cringed. Hamels has had his ups and downs with the Philadelphia fan base over the years (He has the nick name "Hollywood" not just because of where he grew up but also his prissy attitude), but since Roy Halladay came around he has really started to emulate his work ethic. He's gotten a lot more serious about the game and developed a thicker skin.

Calling himself old school was equally stupid and cringe worthy; but as a lifelong baseball fan I know why he hit him on purpose. Over the years I have seen many teams intentionally hit our players and vice versa. It's often done out of frustration or to send a message. Trust me, he wouldn't just plunk him because he's afraid Harper would take him yard. As was stated, Harper proceeded to steal home on Hamels AND Hamels himself was purposefully hit by a pitch later in the game. I'd say everything ended up pretty equal, leaving the admission out of the equation.

I have to ask how many of you are actually Nats fans and how many are just commenting on highlights from the national media? If you are a Nats fan then you'd know that the Nationals organization has gone well out of their way to incite a rivalry this year between not only the Phillies and Nationals fans but the players on the field as well. The fact that they are a fairly young team with great talent isn't enough to draw fans so they are creating a massive publicity campaign based on negativity to drum up support. Right or wrong, it was Hamels' attempt to get his team hyped up and set a tone.

At the end of the day he is still a World Series MVP and will be one of the most sought after free agents next year if the Phillies aren't able to lock him up. Some of the greatest players of all time were real you-know-whats. You and I may not like it, but It's just part of the game.

[barnaby]

Since when is hitting a young, talented player in the back old school?
I don't remember any of the young, upcoming guys like Ken Griffey Jr getting hit? Harper's young prospect counterpart Mike Trout hasn't been hit?
Hitting him wasn't anything but pointless.

And Hamels calling himself "old school" is a joke and an insult to the guys who were/are "old school."

[DizneyFreak2002]

Since when is hitting a young, talented player in the back old school?
I don't remember any of the young, upcoming guys like Ken Griffey Jr getting hit? Harper's young prospect counterpart Mike Trout hasn't been hit?
Hitting him wasn't anything but pointless.

And Hamels calling himself "old school" is a joke and an insult to the guys who were/are "old school."

Eh, just another athlete in Philly trying to make himself sound important LOL...

[Melanie]

This is one of those nights I should have just stayed away from the internet.

Signed, Melanie (lifelong baseball fan)

[indytraveler]

I have to ask how many of you are actually Nats fans and how many are just commenting on highlights from the national media? If you are a Nats fan then you'd know that the Nationals organization has gone well out of their way to incite a rivalry this year between not only the Phillies and Nationals fans but the players on the field as well. The fact that they are a fairly young team with great talent isn't enough to draw fans so they are creating a massive publicity campaign based on negativity to drum up support. Right or wrong, it was Hamels' attempt to get his team hyped up and set a tone.

I'm not a Nats fan but am a baseball fan. I do like the way the kid carries himself, ok he did go psycho with his bat to his head, but he has the maturity of a 30 yr old. That has been groomed into him since he was on the cover of SI at a young age.

As far as the rivalry goes I'll give you that the Nats are trying to establish one with the Phillies. I can't blame them for wanting people to notice their young team. They remind me of the Rays a few years ago when they first started winning.