Bryce Harper gets brawl suspension reduced after appeal
Bryce Harper has earned a small victory in the aftermath of his brawl with the San Francisco Giants and relief pitcher Hunter Strickland. This one came against Major League Baseball’s punishment system.
According to multiple reports, Harper’s four-game suspension has been reduced to three games after he appealed the MLB decision. The original ruling came Tuesday and also knocked Strickland for six games. Strickland also appealed but there’s no word yet on whether he won his appeal.
[Fantasy Football is open! Sign up now]
Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was first on the Harper news. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale offered some insight on the crux of Harper’s appeal:
Source: Bryce Harper’s suspension has been reduced to three days.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 31, 2017
Bryce Harper's camp argued there was no notice of provocation, just a natural reaction to ball fired at him. #Nats
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 31, 2017
A translation there: Harper acted more in the moment than a player who was expecting to get hit because of an ongoing beef. This one had been dormant since the 2014 postseason, when Harper hit two homers off Strickland and the two jawed as he rounded the bases.
On Tuesday, after the initial suspension was announced Harper said: “You never know what Major League Baseball is going to do. It’s always in their hands. I’ll just appeal the four games and see what happens.”
Harper’s suspension takes effect for Wednesday’s series finale against the Giants. He’ll also be sidelined for the first two games of the Nats’ next series across the Bay in Oakland.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – –
Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
