That $330 million mega-contract must be weighing on Bryce Harper a bit already. We’ve seen base-runners take all sorts of wacky routes to avoid the tag at home plate, but Harper really went for it against Twins catcher Willians Astudillo.
With the seeming grace of a NFL running back, or perhaps Josh Allen, Harper tried to hurdle Astudillo! Astudillo is only 5’9, so hardly the tallest dude around the MLB, but still, this is a pretty ambitious move. It... didn’t work out for Harper.
We don’t see this often in baseball. After seeing Harper’s attempt, we don’t think we’re any more likely to see it again, either — in baseball, you aren’t just trying to hurdle a dude, you have to jump over his reach, and that might just be asking too much. But, as always, respect for a full send.
Harper couldn’t get quite high enough to avoid the double play, but the airtime on this bat flip in his return to Washington more than makes up for it — guy’s been absolutely raking to start the year.
h/t Twitter/Twins
