Cole Hamels teaches Bryce Harper an old school baseball lesson in style – MLB Feature
A giant will confront a kid who is known for effrontery. Entertaining an unconscious idea to dislodge and have the Earth slip from his feet, he will smash him out of nowhere, expecting that this will shake his confidence and will make him renounce his courage
to stand up against the Big-wigs.
It is not like the old days with kids respecting elders and keeping mum against their onslaught at them. It is a modern world and if you believe you are old enough and based on this incompetent distinction you can dictate your ways on them. However, you
are terribly wrong.
Cole Hamels is not the first one, who has experimented with this to no avail. Or, perhaps, he was too ignorant about the realities of the modern world.
Ever since Bryce Harper has entered in the Major League Baseball regular season, it seems everyone is doing quirks before him, giving him an orientation about the Majors in their own way.
Just like a ragging on the first day in school at the hands of seniors, Harper is being snubbed, laughed at and being taken for granted. Every time he exhibits confidence, a senior will stand up and mock him and make him feel how weird he is looking, a way
they use to keep their dominance prevailing.
So during the game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Harper got to the plate and faced Hamels. Without knowing what is going to happen within a few moments, he will set himself up on the ground and wait for the throw. What unfortunately he failed to fathom
in the meantime was distractions Hamels was entertaining in his mind.
His stick will remain unused. His composure will run amok following an intentional fastball, aimed at hitting no other place but his back. By bringing his head down close to the belly, he will endure moments of pain.
With this, he will see Hamels pleased with himself over how he welcomes the new prodigy to the Majors.
Part of the satisfaction of Hamels was due to the very tradition, as he put it, he managed to uphold. In classic baseball, rookies are humbled like this. Every time there is a debutant in the line-up, pitchers will get worked up to unleash something that
can horrify them and can pass them through a test of time.
Contrary to a stance Hamels tries to hide behind that he did it just for invoking old-style baseball ways and nothing more than this, the truth is, he has discounted the real story.
With Harper all set to send packing to anyone coming to his way, Hamels was fearful of humiliation, Harper can put him under by hitting him for distance. That is what prompted Hamels to think negative and block Harper from bursting big.
On a positive note, at-least Harper had the chance to have a taste of spice in the Majors, one that he will never experience in the Minor League. A reminder that there are no free-lunches ahead and bigger challenges await him.
Next time he will appear, he will fancy every possible thing and that ability to come out successful under constraints will help his mettle for perfection.
The Nationals instead of taking the incident as an attack on their prospect should have reasons for satisfaction. After all, Harper exhibited resilience and did not come out of his way to assert his flamboyance, which teenagers are prone to do in general.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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