Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper was ejected from the dugout Monday, apparently for arguing balls and strikes. He reacted by charging the field with manager Gabe Kapler and screaming at the home plate umpire, who had just tossed him. MORE: Watch 'ChangeUp,' a new MLB live whiparound show on DAZN Angry Bryce Harper.pic.twitter.com/ABUbexUwEY — Sporting News MLB (@SN Studio_mlb) April 23, 2019 Harper appeared upset with a call in his second at-bat, according to MLB.com Mets beat writer Anthony DiComo, and continued to chirp from his place in the dugout. Bryce Harper was ejected, apparently for arguing balls and strikes from the dugout. Harper bounded onto the field, livid, to scream at home-plate umpire Mark Carlson, as the Citi Field crowd went bananas. Harper was particularly mad about Pitch 4 in his second at-bat here: pic.twitter.com/FJZdqb7ENu — Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 23, 2019 He's the first Phillies player to be ejected since 2015. It's been a solid first season in Philadelphia so far for Harper, who has hit five home runs and leads the league in walks. But the often passionate 26-year-old joined a cast of MLB coaches and players unhappy with umpires this season. In spring training, umpire Angel Hernandez ejected Astros manager A.J. Hinch after just one pitch. Hinch was tossed again a couple of weeks later in the regular season.<doc-sep>Bryce Harper got ejected from a game for the first time as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night and the lefty slugger didn’t go quietly. The right-fielder was sitting in the dugout when he got tossed for likely barking at the umps over a called third strike in his previous at-bat against the Mets. Once Harper found out that he had been tossed from the game he stormed out on to the field in his best George Brett impersonation and let the umps know how he felt about their decision. And it looked like he wasn’t a fan of said decision because he had to be held back: Angry Bryce Harper.pic.twitter.com/ABUbexUwEY — Sporting News MLB (@sn_mlb) April 23, 2019 That came just after this Eli Manning fan tried to get in his head: Folks, I don’t know how Bryce Harper is ever going to recover from this. This Mets/Giants fan absolutely ROASTING Bryce from the stands pic.twitter.com/nhRaFmq0fk — We Gotta Believe (@GottaBelievePod) April 23, 2019 Wow. But yeah, Harper has quickly become a fan-favorite in Philly and that ejection should only make them love him even more.<doc-sep>NEW YORK -- Let's put it this way: Nobody looks better when he's getting ejected from a game than Bryce Harper. Bryce Harper wasn't having it tonight 😡 pic.twitter.com/DwnzRMtX46 — ESPN (@espn) April 23, 2019 Harper was ejected for the 12th time in his career in the Philadelphia Phillies' 5-1 loss to the New York Mets on Monday, but at least it was a display of modern art worthy of a showing at the Guggenheim. Consider the mechanics of this particular ejection: (1) It came four batters after Harper had been called out on strikes in the top of the fourth inning. Like a carefully crafted movie script, he let the tension build until the moment called for some action. (2) He let Phillies manager Gabe Kapler spring first out of the dugout, creating added tension and confusion as to what exactly was going on. (3) Harper, in his fury to charge after umpire Mark Carlson, slipped on the dugout steps. This could have been a disastrous moment for Harper and the Phillies, a freak injury if he had twisted an ankle or knee. (4) Kapler shoved him out of the way before Harper could get to Carlson. Again, maybe a lucky break for the Phillies, given that Kapler is maybe the only manager with the appropriate upper-body strength to hold off Harper. (5) Harper went out with a blaze of glory, continuing to yell and point toward Carlson, with his magnificently coiffed hair on full display. OK, more seriously, it's not all fun and games when you lose your No. 3 hitter midway through what was a 2-1 game against a key division opponent. Harper admitted as much after the game. Editor's Picks Here's how Bryce Harper is doing with the Phillies so far Power Rankings: New challengers vie for No. 1 How Christian Yelich became a future Hall of Famer in 400 plate appearances 2 Related "It just can't happen. In a game like that, against the Mets, division rival, things like that, it just can't happen," he said. "For myself and this team as well. We're a better team with me in the lineup, and I gotta stay in that game. These games matter. They matter now, they matter in September." Teammate Jake Arrieta, who picked up the loss in the game, admonished Harper after the game: "We need him in right field. I don't care how bad the umpire is. He wasn't great for either side. I'm out there, trying to make pitches, he misses some calls, so what? We need [Bryce] out there." Kapler was obviously not happy after the game, though he defended Harper and said Carlson's ejection wasn't fair. "There was normal chirping from the dugout that is in every dugout every single night," he said. "It was no different." Nonetheless, considering that the ejection came four batters after Harper struck out, the chirping had obviously tested Carlson's patience. As Arrieta suggested, ultimately the responsibility sits with the player to remain in the game. In the video, you can see Harper still on the top step of the dugout. He could have said his peace as he walked away from the batter's box and then stewed on the bench. Of course, Harper isn't new to ejections. Among active players, only Matt Kemp has more, with 14 -- and Kemp reached the majors six years before Harper. Yunel Escobar is third on the active list, with nine, and I'm not sure he's even still active, considering he last appeared in the big leagues in 2017. Is Harper too much of a hothead? Does he have a reputation with the umpires, fair or not? It's hard to say. His 12 ejections have come from 12 different umpires: Date Umpire Trigger event 8/29/2012 CB Bucknor Call at first base (threw helmet) 5/5/2013 John Hirschbeck Checked swing (threw bat, helmet) 7/13/2013 Hunter Wendelstedt Called third strike 5/13/2015 Rob Drake Checked swing 5/20/2015 Marvin Hudson Balls and strikes 7/31/2015 Jerry Meals Called third strike 5/9/2016 Brian Knight Balls and strikes 8/27/2016 Mike Winters Called third strike (slammed bat) 5/29/2017 Brian Gorman Fighting (threw helmet) 7/26/2017 Chris Segal Balls and strikes 9/20/2018 D.J. Rayburn Called third strike 4/22/2019 Mark Carlson Balls and strikes Harper didn't have a ready explanation for this ejection. "I'm usually zero-to-100 anyways, so I feel like all my ejections it's usually pretty calm, and then 'Bam!' once it happens, try to let it out, I guess." What It's Like To Lose Your Job To Bryce Harper When the Phillies signed You Know Who, Nick Williams was afraid to buy furniture -- because he was pretty darned sure he was about to be traded. Eddie Matz » But Harper isn't a young kid anymore. He's in his eighth season in the majors. He knows questionable calls are part of the game -- and the two in the fourth inning weren't even that questionable. As one of the expected leaders of the team, Harper can't allow himself to cross the line or give an umpire the excuse to send him to the showers early. He knows this. "I have to stay in that game for the organization, the fans. I have to do better," he said. The Phillies went down quietly after the ejection, with Mets pitchers retiring the final 16 batters in a row as the Phillies dropped their fourth game in five. Harper has to do better on Tuesday, but so do the rest of his teammates. Elsewhere on Monday ... Arenado's big night: The Rockies beat the Nationals 7-5, and it was the Nolan Arenado show. He hit two doubles and a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning for his 1,000th career hit, and he turned a slick 5-3 double play to end the game. Here's the home run: Arenado got off to a terrible start, with no home runs and six RBIs through the team's first 15 games. Not coincidentally, the Rockies started 3-12.<doc-sep>In his 22nd game since coming over from Washington in spring training, Harper became the first Philadelphia player to get tossed since 2015, ending what had been the longest such stretch by any major league team (per MLB.com). The 26-year-old outfielder made sure he got his money’s worth, following Phillies Manager Gabe Kapler onto the field before needing to be restrained by two other coaches.<doc-sep>
One thing Phillies fans have yet to experience much of is new slugger Bryce Harper’s at-times contentious relationship with baseball’s umpires. H e has been known to shout “fuck you ” at them; they have been known to eject him for mysterious reasons. In general the two sides seem to harbor quite a bit of mutual resentment, some of which bubbled over again Monday night. Following a rain-delayed start, Mets pitcher Steven Matz mostly mowed his way through Philadelphia’s intimidating lineup , limiting the Phillies to three hits and one run over six innings of work. In two tries against Harper, Matz recorded two of his six strikeouts, on a total of ten pitches. Harper moved the bat off his shoulder three times, and looked at a total of four called strikes. He apparently liked none of them, as he made clear following his second at-bat. That led to the following scene, with Harper and manager Gabe Kapler losing their damn minds at home plate umpire Mark Carlson: Harper set a goal for himself in 2018 that he would not be ejected from any games all season , and then, sadly, borked it all up in the final week of the season. The man’s got a temper! Notably, this was the first time a Phillies player has been ejected from a game since 2015, which incidentally was the rough midpoint of their active seven season streak of missing the playoffs. If apathy works as a handy explanation for that dearth of ejections , then perhaps Harper’s meltdown is another sign of this team’s rise back to contention? Or, anyway, that’s a possible silver lining for a loss to the dreaded Mets.