Nationals slugger Bryce Harper ripped the cover of a baseball. Literally. Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Bryce Harper literally hits the cover off ball on fouled-off pitch

Originally posted on Sportress of Blogitude
By Jason Rowan | Last updated 6/9/17

Bryce Harper turned a figure of baseball speech into a literal occurrence by ripping the cover off a baseball during the Washington Nationals’ 6-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.

The Nationals slugger performed the amazing feat during the second inning on a payoff pitch, presumably inspiring countless references to “The Sandlot” to hit social media in the process.

.@Bharper3407, just casually busting baseballs. pic.twitter.com/CXu6rcrpix

— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) June 9, 2017

Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez would be impressed...

C'mon, Bryce man … only 2 or 3 guys in history ever busted the guts out of a baseball. pic.twitter.com/SkkR9W4AJI

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 9, 2017

... you know, if he was a real person and not a character in a movie.

While the act of ripping the cover of a baseball is indeed impressive, what makes the entire scene amusing is how Harper did his best Bartolo Colon impression by swinging so hard his helmet flew off. Although it did provide Harper a chance to showcase his majestic mane of hair, and it’s well known how much prep the slugger puts into always sporting a well-coiffed mane.

This article first appeared on Sportress of Blogitude and was syndicated with permission.

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