Who Was At Fault In The Jonathan Papelbon-Bryce Harper Fight? Ex-Players Weighed In

In case you somehow still haven’t seen it, two of the Washington Nationals star players, MVP candidate Bryce Harper and closer Jonathan Papelbon, got into it in the dugout yesterday. We’ve already covered how the media reacted to the scuffle, but we haven’t got the perspective of former major leaguers as of yet.

Cue C.J. Nitkowski, a former relief pitcher who spent 10 years in the majors, including a stint with the Nationals in 2005. Nitkowski penned a column at Just A Bit Outside where he weighed in with his thoughts on the confrontation, saying:

So who’s to blame? I don’t play the “I played and you didn’t” card unless I think it is warranted; this is clearly a situation where playing experience matters. The clubhouse is like no other place. It’s not like an office, and it’s not like your weekend softball team. Don’t compare a clubhouse to where you work, it’s completely different.

“I’m not one to play the ‘I played and you didn’t’ card, but here is me doing exactly that.”

Perhaps more newsworthy than Nitkowski’s own personal opinion on the matter, however, is that he claimed to have polled more than a dozen former and current major league players about the incident between Harper and Papelbon, and the results were unanimous, in favor of the pitcher. Here are some of the collected responses Nitkowski provides.

Pap did what should have been done three years ago. Veteran players should be doing this across the league.

Bryce is a great player. He’s a true superstar. But he’s not above playing the game the right way. I’m glad someone finally told him that.

Kid has been allowed to loaf for the past two years. Williams got crucified for benching him last year; media and fans took Bryce’s side so he kept doing it and wasn’t getting punished. Veteran finally said something; kid ran his mouth at the wrong guy and got beat up.

I agree with Pap calling Harper out — hustling and continuous work ethic creates champions. He got the response most players would have probably given from the exchange. Should have been handled in the clubhouse.

He quit on his team after the fight, just like he does on popups.

For what it’s worth, the opinions that Nitkowski sources don’t gel with those of at least some current Nationals players, as one veteran told Fox Sports:

“In all honesty, he brings it every day. He may have some antics that rub people wrong, but he’s (always) trying to make a play in the field or make things happen at the plate. I’ve got nothing but positive for Harp.”

Baseball is often accused of being too old-fashioned and played by a bizarre set of “unwritten rules” that no one really knows about until they pop up. When you have things like the Diamondbacks beaning Andrew McCutchen because one of their players was accidentally lost for the season, Colby Lewis getting angry at Colby Rasmus for successfully beating a shift by placing down a bunt, and well over a dozen major league players coming to the defense of an ill-tempered, washed-up relief pitcher over a 22-year-old MVP candidate because he didn’t run as fast as he could have on a pop out (in a game taking place after his team was already eliminated from playoff contention, no less), it makes it hard to understand from a fans’ perspective what exactly this set of unwritten rules is, and who decides when and if they are enforced.

Harper should have ran the ball out, that’s not a question. However, isn’t that on manager Matt Williams to talk to him about it, and not the team’s closer to throw down with him in the dugout for the entire world to see? If it really needed to get to that, couldn’t Papelbon wait until after the game when the cameras weren’t around?

Nitkowski and the other former players certainly have a right to their opinion, and he is correct that those of us who never have played pro baseball don’t know the exact nature of a clubhouse. However, as long as that mindset is prominent among pro players, the culture around baseball isn’t going to change any time soon.

(Via Just A Bit Outside)