After Sunday's game against the Nationalss, Cole Hamels admitted that he purposely threw at Bryce Harpers back. Harper proceeded to take first base. After a single from Jayson Werth that took him to third, Harper stole home in almost a "back atcha" to Hamels.
Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo didn't like Hamels throwing at his young outfielder, and responded when asked by the Washington Post.
“Cole Hamels says he’s old school? He’s the polar opposite of old school. He’s fake tough. He thinks he’s going to intimidate us after hitting our 19-year-old rookie who’s eight games into the big leagues? He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.”
Who is he dealin with exactly? Does e think he's a mob boss? Will hamels be sleeping with the fishes sometime in the near future?
Throwing at or near a batter is something that is prevalent in the major league and has been for decades. A strategy that instinctively backs the batter away from the plate. Hamels wasn't head hunting. In fact, later in the game, Nats starter Jordan Zimmerman responded throwing at and hitting Hamels in the knee while he was attempting to bunt.
“He was bunting, and I’m going to take an out when I can get an out,” Zimmermann said. “I was trying to go away, and I cut a fastball really, really bad and hit him in the knee.” At least Cole admitted throwing at the 19 year old.
At this point, after several successful post seasons in a row by the Phillies, there seems to be bad blood between the division rivals. The Nationals haven't appeared in a single postseason since the 1981 year when they were still called the Expos. Nationals owners began a campaign earlier this year to "take back" their stadium(from Phillies fans who follow their team down to Washington). They wouldn't allow credit cards from outside the state to be used when purchasing their tickets.Unfortunately, even with the top pitching prospect in the league, and the best record in the division, the Nats are still having issues filling their seats. On the other hand, the Phillies have been struggling thus far this year on the field, yet still pack Citizens Bank Park every game. The bottom line is Philadelphia has passionate fans that show up rain or shine.
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