Bryce Harper is finding interesting ways to fulfill his vow to make baseball fun again.
The Nationals outfielder has had quite the eventful couple of days, ending in an ejection Monday night. The saga, however, all began over the weekend.
The Cubs swept away the Nationals in a four-game series from Thursday-Sunday, giving the reigning NL MVP the Barry Bonds treatment in the final game.
Harper walked a record six times in the contest -- three intentional -- as Chicago pitched around the Nationals superstar en route to a 13-inning, 4-3 win.
Harper was also hit by a pitch in the contest, setting an MLB record for reaching base seven times without ever registering an official at-bat.
There was a lot of controversy surrounding the Cubs' move, with Washington pitcher Tanner Roark even accusing them of "scared baseball," but the strategy paid off for Joe Madden and the surging North Siders, who are an MLB-best 24-6.
Though his team was swept away in the Windy City, Harper was in the giving mood. The outfielder collected a jar of money and handed it off to a homeless person in Chicago, continuing his interesting week:
On Monday, the Nationals returned home and welcomed in the Tigers for some interleague action, finally ending their four-game losing streak in thrilling fashion. Washington overcame Detroit, 5-4, on a walk-off home run by Clint Robinson in the bottom of the ninth.
The feat was accomplished without Harper in the dugout as the 23-year-old three-time All-Star was thrown out of the game for arguing with umpire Brian Knight after the entire dugout was outraged over a called strike three to Danny Espinosa to start the inning.
After the walk-off, Harper returned to celebrate with his teammates and had some choice words for Knight, clearly mouthing "f--k you" to him while his teammates jumped for joy at home plate.
"Everybody was up on the steps, preaching about what they thought was going on," Harper told reporters via ESPN. "[Knight] kind of picked me and said, 'See ya later.' I think my emotions showed that I was pretty surprised, but, you know, I think Clint Robinson made me really excited, hit the walk-off, and we got the W, so that's all that matters about tonight."
Harper owns a .260/.434/.620 slashline this season with 10 homers and ranks tied for fourth in the NL with 27 RBIs. He was 0-for-2 with two more walks (one intentional) and a strikeout on Monday prior to the ejection.
The outfielder didn't deny the exchange or his harsh words for Knight after the game.
"Yeah, absolutely," he said. "I was pretty upset. I think I was right to do that. Let him hear what I have to say, let him hear it again, and so what? Couple choice words. If I do [get fined], I do. I'll pay it. So I think it deserves to, you know, maybe he'll get fined, too. So we'll see."
It's been quite a few days for the reigning NL MVP.
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