Philadelphia's diamond-gazer, Bryce Harper, benched himself for a breather Sunday, but let's be clear, it wasn't the result of his acrobatic nosedive into a photo pit. The Phillies' first baseman, known for his hustle, might’ve given fans a gasp-worthy moment on Saturday as he flopped over a railing in pursuit of a fly ball, yet he emerged from the shutterbug den without a scratch. According to the Phillies skipper, Rob Thomson, Harper's sideline stint was already on the docket, marking a "scheduled day off just because he hasn't played much in the spring and then he falls into the camera well," as FOX29 reported.
Let's give it up for proper timing, huh? While Harper wasn't present for a clubhouse chitchat when journos swung by, Thomson dished out to the press about two hours before the first pitch that he was still in the dark about Harper's health post-tumble. Meanwhile, the ball club's brass including President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski, concocted their own reenactment of Harper's hurdle over the rail, which, folks, wasn't exactly a high jump bar—it measures a few inches shy of the dugout's protective barrier. Harper himself piped up that a vertical leap for the railing could be in the works, AP News noted.
This isn't our first rodeo seeing Harper play daredevil with fly balls. Last season, the man redefined 'aggressive' at first base. The incident in question unfurled when Atlanta's Austin Riley knocked a ball foul off pitcher Aaron Nola, coaxing Harper into a chase that ended with his cap and himself unceremoniously dropped in the dugout's photo corner. The spill didn't knock Harper out of his cleats, though—he hoofed it back over the rail to a rousing ovation and stuck out the game, at least until the later innings of the Phillies' 12-4 nosedive against the Braves, ESPN reported.
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