Baseball players are creatures of habit. For Bryce Harper, a large part of his habitual routine is on batting practice. He prefers to take BP in the indoor batting tunnel rather than on the field because he prefers the more controlled environment of the indoor cage. He also uses the same bat for every round of BP that he takes.
In batting practice, Harper uses a bat that is about three years old and is a 34-inch, 35-ounce bat. It’s the same length as his game bats, but about four ounces heavier when you consider that the bat has slowly soaked in some moisture that adds to it’s weight. Harper uses a 31.5 ounce bat in the game, but works out with the heavier bat.
A couple months ago, Harper talked with hitting coach Kevin Long about perhaps using his heavier BP model in a game, but just put the idea in the back of his head. Lately, Harper has felt that he was getting out in front of too many pitches, so he decided to go to his reliable BP bat in the game against the Mets.
Change is good. Harper, for the first time in his career, hit for the cycle using the heavier bat normally reserved for his indoor batting sessions. The MLB authenticator, who is on hand at every game, authenticated the bat after Harper hit for the cycle. He also authenticated the batting gloves that Harper wore and they were sent along to Cooperstown to be displayed at the Hall of Fame. The bat stayed with Harper.
On Sunday, Harper kept his old bat tucked safely in his locker. For the game, he pulled out a new 35-ounce bat of the same style in the finale against the Mets. He struck out in his first at-bat and went to somewhat of a pinch-hitter for the rest of the game, pulling out the bat from Saturday’s game and promptly doubled. The magical effects of the bat may be more than just the weight; the worn and familiar feel of the bat may be what has helped Harper deliver when using the big old stick of lumber.
Not only did Harper double on Sunday, but he also hit a solo home run and singled with Old Faithful. That made him 7-for-8 with the bat that is normally reserved for BP only. It will be interesting to see which bat he comes out of the dugout with Monday night in Washington.
The final piece of the cycle
Harper had completed the single, double, and home run portion of the cycle and needed just the triple when he stepped to the plate in the fifth inning on Sunday. Harper was determined that if there was any chance – no matter how slight – that he could get the triple in that at-bat, he was taking it. The flyball to left-center field provided that slight chance and Harper conjured up all of the speed that he could to make it happen.
The cutoff man had a decision to make on the play; fire home to try to get Kyle Schwarber or go to third and nail Harper. The easier play was going to third, but needing to cut off the run, the ball went to the plate where it was bobbled by catcher Luis Torrens. Harper continued his dash to third and kicked off the celebration for his first career cycle.
A good call
One name you don’t know is that of a man who played a big factor in the play. Dick Shute is a longtime official scorer for Major League Baseball. He used all of the correct factors in determining how to score the play. He could have ruled it a double with Harper advancing on the throw. He also could have given Torrens an error for bobbling the ball and said that the error was what allowed Harper to advance to third.
One thing that official scorers are supposed to take into mind is the situation and the intent of the runner. The situation was that Harper needed a triple to hit for the cycle; something he had never done before. Harper’s intent was a triple and he was going to give everything he could to make it to third on that play even if it meant he got thrown out. Official scorers also can not assume an out. In other words, while Harper likely would have been out by 30 feet if the cutoff is then thrown to third, the official scorer can’t assume he would be out; what about a bad throw or a dropped ball at third?
The throw being botched by Torrens wasn’t really a factor. Once the throw came home, there was no intent to get Harper at third, so the play only affected Schwarber and his attempt to score on the play.
Even more common
While hitting for the cycle is rare in Major League Baseball – it generally occurs two or three times per season – Schwarber’s two home runs in the same inning feat is even more unusual.
Since records have been kept, there have been 349 occasions where a player has hit for the cycle. In the same time period, there have only been 67 times when a player has hit two home runs in the same inning.
In the history of the game, only one player has ever hit two grand slams in the same inning. That happened on April 23, 1999 when Fernando Tatis Sr. accomplished the feat.
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