Bryce Harper's days of sacrificing his body for his team are over. At least this early in the season.
The Nationals outfielder pulled up short of the wall in foul territory as he tried to make a catch on a fair ball in Saturday's game against the Cubs. That allowed two runs to score and gave Chicago a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning.
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But Harper had no regrets about his decision to play it safe.
"I’m not going to run into the wall, plain and simple," Harper said, via MASN Sports. "Got as close as I could and put my glove out and (the ball) nicked off it. Things happen. I’m not going to do it again — run into a wall — and I’m not playing for another year and not feeling healthy. I’d rather be in the lineup every day. That’s just not going to happen."
The 2015 National League MVP had no doubt he made the right decision by pulling up short of the wall, as he's been injured in the past on similar plays.
Manager Dusty Baker agreed Harper made the right choice.
"There’s nothing, outside of running into that wall and hurting yourself," Baker said. "They’ve got padding out there, but that pad doesn’t help. Anybody that’s ever run into that wall ..."
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Fellow outfielder Ben Revere said that sometimes nothing can be done in those situations.
"Nothing you can do right there," Revere said. "Nothing you can do. Happened to me last year: I was with Philly, and a guy got a triple and an RBI. It’s kind of just like, what can you do? There’s nothing."
Washington fans would certainly agree that Harper is more functional when he's healthy.
The Cubs held on for an 8-5 win Saturday and will attempt a series sweep against the Nationals Sunday.