Dusty Baker must be a miracle worker.
A day after the Nationals made Baker their manager, star outfielder Bryce Harper buried the hatchet with closer Jonathan Papelbon after a fight broke out between the two during a Sept. 27 game, The Washington Post reported.
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Harper called Papelbon to make sure they enter 2016 without any baggage, according to a Nationals source.
"Papelbon and Harper are fine together," the Nationals source said, referring to Harper's phone call. "Harp just wants to win. All he cares about is that we have a 45-save relief pitcher who's going to help us."
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The two got into a heated exchange on Sept. 27 as Washington was finishing a disappointing season that would end up with the franchise missing out on the postseason. Harper made little attempt to run out a fly ball in the eighth inning, and was met in the dugout with some sharp criticism by Papelbon.
Harper responded by mouthing the words, "Let's go" to Papelbon, who proceeded to grab Harper by the throat before the two were separated. The fight was the death knell for former manager Matt Williams, who later inserted Papelbon into the game, saying afterward he didn't know the extent of the fight.
The Nationals suspended Harper for a game and Papelbon for the last four games of the season.
Baker has had plenty of experience dealing with players who don't get along -- he managed Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent in San Francisco. Although he didn't have anything to do with Harper's phone call, he was pegged as the manager who would help Harper grow up, as Forbes reported.
"In Dusty Baker, the Nationals are getting a man who understands people and knows how to work with young superstars to take them to the next level. Make no mistake: The single key to turning the Nats into a World Series team is not studying lefty-righty matchups, or contemplating WAR, but teaching Bryce Harper how to be a man."
Baker's job just got a whole lot easier if Harper reached out to Papelbon without prodding from anyone in the organization.
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