usatoday – Cole Hamels did not mince words: He hit Bryce Harper on purpose Sunday night. Now, Hamels figures to pay a price for his honesty. Hamels drilled the Washington Nationals phenom in the back with the first pitch he delivered to him Sunday night, a pitch that surely looked like it had a purpose. After the Phillies’ 9-3 win, Hamels confirmed as much. “I was trying to hit him. I’m not going to deny it,” Hamels told news reporters. It was a stunning bit of candor from a starting pitcher. Even when the most obvious of purpose pitches are delivered, a pitcher goes into his best bit of acting, using phrases like “ball got away” or “just trying to throw inside” with the hope of avoiding a suspension or fine. And just what was Hamels’ motivation? Putting a 19-year-old in his place, naturally. Harper, by the way, is now hitting .308 with a .424 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage.

Full quote via the Inquirer:

“I was trying to hit him. I’m not going to deny it. It’s something I grew up watching. That’s what happened. I’m just trying to continue the old baseball. Some people get away from it. I remember when I was a rookie, the strike zone was really, really small and you didn’t say anything. That’s the way baseball is. Sometimes the league is protecting certain players. It’s that old-school prestigious way of baseball.

“I’m not going to injure a guy. They’re probably not going to like me for it but I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t trying to do it. I think they understood the message and they threw it right back. That’s the way, and I respect it. They can say whatever they want.”

This one’s for anybody who ever wrote Cole off as being “soft” or “Californian”  – which I’m guessing people were using as a synonym for “pussy”. Nothing “Californian” about that. First pitch of his up and he nails the kid in the back. NATITUDE!

That’s old school baseball the way it was meant to be played.  A call back to a time when men were men, when after a game players smoked cigars, drank whiskey, and visited their local negro jazz joint looking for hooch and dames.  The way things were meant to be.  I mean if this kid is gonna be stealing home and saving money by cutting his own hair then maybe more starters in the league should take a shot at him.

Reader Email

Hey mo,

Long time reader, first time writer. Can you start the campaign to start throwing D batteries at Bryce Harper when he comes to town. I have a feeling I’m going to hate this kid for a long time and I want him to see how much we hate him very early on.

-Justin

D batteries seems a bit harsh, Justin. Dude’s just 19 and living the dream of every Dominican Mexican Columbian Japanese Korean Cuban American kid. Let’s just start off with AA’s and work our way up from there.

In other news:

Yeah that’s broken.