A great many former MLB players have weighed in on the Jonathan Papelbon-Bryce Harper incident in recent days, helping to stir the froth of pungent emotions whipped up by this very public disagreement.
But it’s hard to imagine a more relevant veteran opinion than that of Cal Ripken Jr., both because so many locals still revere him, and because he’s been mentioned as a past (and potentially future) candidate for the team’s managerial role.
If, you know, that slot were to ever open up again. Theoretically.
While at a charity event he co-hosted with Kevin Spacey this week, Ripken was asked about the Papelbon-Harper incident by Fox 5’s Kevin McCarthy, who is not the House Majority Leader. Specifically, Ripken was asked if stuff like that happened in his era.
“Yeah, we kept those things secret in my day, so you wouldn’t know about those things,” Ripken said with a smile. “But yeah, I mean, I can see how tempers flare. And I can see how when a season doesn’t go the way you thought it would and you get eliminated from the playoffs, I think emotions can be a little higher. So yes, the answer is yes, in the short way.
“I’m not going to go back and tell you all the different times, but it happens,” Ripken continued. “And the Nationals dealt with it in their way, and the two principals, Papelbon and Harper, seem to have ironed it out as well. So I don’t think it’s an issue.”
If you are looking for foreshadowing in any of that, you have a very active imagination.
Angels outfielder David Murphy also offered an interesting opinion, in an interview with Mike Ferrin and Jim Duquette on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio.
“Bryce Harper’s a younger guy, but he’s been around the league long enough, he knows how to play the game,” Murphy said. “And Papelbon was trying to be a leader right there and was trying to address his teammate and encourage him to play the game the right way, to play harder, to run out a pop-up. So it’s good to see players holding their teammates accountable. On the other hand, I think that the physical aspect of it, how the fight went down and how physical it became very quickly, that was probably unnecessary.
“But knowing how Papelbon is, he gets fired up,” Murphy went on. “He’s the type of guy that treats the game of baseball with the intensity of a football player. He apologized, and I think that part of it was unnecessary. You can talk about it; I don’t think it needs to get to the point where it gets physical like that. But good to see players holding one another accountable.”
The AP also solicited opinions from a few well-known MLB figures.
“Everybody’s adrenaline and emotions are all over the place, and it happens,” David Ortiz said. “It’s not like they happen a lot, but they happen. We spend way too much time together, away from our family. You’ve got 25 different mentalities together at once, 25 different men in the same room….Even between big brother, little brother — fights happen. The most important thing is figure things out and go back to normal, which is what I’m pretty sure will happen over there….
“My boy Papelbon is legit. He’s a trooper, a great teammate,” Ortiz also said. “At some point, hopefully they figure things out, because Harper is a pretty good kid, too.”
Former Nats reliever Joe Beimel said “it seemed like there was a fight every week or so” when he first arrived in the Majors, but they were rarely in public view.
“To do it in the dugout is not a very good idea,” Beimel said. “First of all, you know cameras are around. Fans are around.”
But it’s hard to imagine a more relevant veteran opinion than that of Cal Ripken Jr., both because so many locals still revere him, and because he’s been mentioned as a past (and potentially future) candidate for the team’s managerial role.
If, you know, that slot were to ever open up again. Theoretically.
While at a charity event he co-hosted with Kevin Spacey this week, Ripken was asked about the Papelbon-Harper incident by Fox 5’s Kevin McCarthy, who is not the House Majority Leader. Specifically, Ripken was asked if stuff like that happened in his era.
“Yeah, we kept those things secret in my day, so you wouldn’t know about those things,” Ripken said with a smile. “But yeah, I mean, I can see how tempers flare. And I can see how when a season doesn’t go the way you thought it would and you get eliminated from the playoffs, I think emotions can be a little higher. So yes, the answer is yes, in the short way.
“I’m not going to go back and tell you all the different times, but it happens,” Ripken continued. “And the Nationals dealt with it in their way, and the two principals, Papelbon and Harper, seem to have ironed it out as well. So I don’t think it’s an issue.”
If you are looking for foreshadowing in any of that, you have a very active imagination.
Angels outfielder David Murphy also offered an interesting opinion, in an interview with Mike Ferrin and Jim Duquette on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio.
“Bryce Harper’s a younger guy, but he’s been around the league long enough, he knows how to play the game,” Murphy said. “And Papelbon was trying to be a leader right there and was trying to address his teammate and encourage him to play the game the right way, to play harder, to run out a pop-up. So it’s good to see players holding their teammates accountable. On the other hand, I think that the physical aspect of it, how the fight went down and how physical it became very quickly, that was probably unnecessary.
“But knowing how Papelbon is, he gets fired up,” Murphy went on. “He’s the type of guy that treats the game of baseball with the intensity of a football player. He apologized, and I think that part of it was unnecessary. You can talk about it; I don’t think it needs to get to the point where it gets physical like that. But good to see players holding one another accountable.”
The AP also solicited opinions from a few well-known MLB figures.
“Everybody’s adrenaline and emotions are all over the place, and it happens,” David Ortiz said. “It’s not like they happen a lot, but they happen. We spend way too much time together, away from our family. You’ve got 25 different mentalities together at once, 25 different men in the same room….Even between big brother, little brother — fights happen. The most important thing is figure things out and go back to normal, which is what I’m pretty sure will happen over there….
“My boy Papelbon is legit. He’s a trooper, a great teammate,” Ortiz also said. “At some point, hopefully they figure things out, because Harper is a pretty good kid, too.”
Former Nats reliever Joe Beimel said “it seemed like there was a fight every week or so” when he first arrived in the Majors, but they were rarely in public view.
“To do it in the dugout is not a very good idea,” Beimel said. “First of all, you know cameras are around. Fans are around.”
Meanwhile, let’s check in with some other baseball names!
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