Without a doubt, Bryce Harper is talented. But what happened on Monday night was a disgrace and the act of a douchebag. If he wants to be like Barry Bonds, hated by almost everyone, he is off to a good start.

In the 6th inning of the game Monday, Harper hits a home run to right field. A nice home run, but not worth the celebration that ensued. He started by admiring his home run with a long pause at the plate. This act in itself is not a good one. Act like you’ve been there before.

This, and rightfully so, upset pitcher Zachary Neal of Greensboro. So as Harper rounds the bases, Neal let’s him know of his displeasure for showing up the pitcher. And what is Harper’s reaction? It’s that of a twelve year-old. As he heads for home, Harper puckers up and makes a kissing motion at Neal.

In my book, this would earn Harper a few bruises in ensuing at-bats and some teammates as well. There has to be a message sent that this sort of behavior is not acceptable, and it could come from his own team as well.

You are a professional athlete Harper. Act like one! There are a lot of people, even non Nationals fans, who are anxious to see what you can do at the Major League level. But if this is an indication of how you will act in the future, you will have a lot more haters than supporters. It’s time to grow up and realize that your actions speak louder than your words. So act like you belong.

By the way, Harper and the Suns lost the game 3-2.

Follow The Baseball Journeyman on Twitter or Facebook. And don’t forget to join our RSS feed for all the latest information.

This fight is brought to you by the letters H and R as in HR. This is between the Lansing Lugnuts and the West Michigan Whitecaps. TrueTv does a great job showing the fight with some closeups and who gets hurt.

Follow The Baseball Journeyman on Twitter or Facebook. And don’t forget to join our RSS feed for all the latest information.

I love baseball. It’s been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I grew up cheering for Dale Murphy and the Atlanta Braves courtesy of TBS, and was hurt the day he was traded to Philly for Jeff Parrett. I celebrated in 1991 when we downed Pitt in the NLCS to make it to the World Series. It was the first time I had ever been able to cheer for “my” team in October, and I still hold a grudge against Lonnie Smith. Yes I know this year will be 20 years and its not good to hold grudges, but come on he should have scored on that double by Pendleton.

Anyway, I am going to get way too far off track if I continue down that road. My point is I love baseball and I love MLB. But there is something I would rather attend if given the chance and that is minor league baseball.

I will watch ANY baseball on TV which might make me a little strange to some. I can remember watching the Silver Bullets play on TV (yep that girls team). I watch Korean baseball all the time with no sound. I hate to miss the Little League World Series and I will watch any and all baseball I find on television. But going to a game, I think I have come to like minor league baseball the best.

The stadiums in MLB are the best in the world, but it has gotten so expensive that it is becoming unafordable for most families. If you are able to score tickets at a good price, it will be in the upper deck where you feel a mile away from the game. However, for the price of that upper deck ticket, and in many cases less, you can attend a minor league game and be close to the action.

Sure you give up watching the best players in the world, but the only difference in the players in the minors from the majors is consistancy. There are some really talented young players in the minors, and talented or not they are busting their hump because they know if they don’t tomorrow they won’t have a job. They are hungry to get to the next level. They hustle. When was the last time you saw a star in the majors hustle when he didn’t have to?

The best thing, besides the typical low cost, is being close to the players. I have been to a few games where I was able to talk to players. One game we talked to the left fielder. In between innings we would ask him where he was from, how he liked the small town he played for, and so on. It was great. He was happy to talk to us, and he promised us a ball if he ever ended the inning with a fly ball. Later in the game when we left to get something to eat while he was at bat, he hit a home run right where we should have been standing and after we returned he wanted to know why we were gone for his big moment. It was great to get down to a personal level with a ballplayer. Just a side note, that player has since made it to the majors.

You will never be able to experience something like that at a MLB game. Sitting so close to the field that the players can hear you when you cheer is great. Getting excited and cheering when someone makes a great play only to have them look your way in acknowledgment that they heard you is an awesome thing. Plus its easy to cheer for someone who is not make a lot of money to play a kids game. They play hard, get paid little, and really do appreciate when you cheer for them. Do you think Aroid really cares if you cheer for him when he makes a play at third base. No, he is only concerned about his paycheck coming tomorrow.

Don’t get me wrong. I love MLB games. It is the highest level of the game anywhere in the world. But when push comes to shove, minor league games give you so much more bang for your buck that they are not to be overlooked. After all imagine how many people will have memories of seeing players like Pujols, Jeter, or Chipper Jones when they were young and in the minors. The player that took the time to talk to us that night in left field might not be a superstar in the majors, but he’ll be a superstar to me for the time we shared and his kindness.

So what do you think, minors or majors?

Follow The Baseball Journeyman on Twitter or Facebook. And don’t forget to join our RSS feed for all the latest information.

Last year while playing for the Long Beach Armada (a now defunct team in the Golden Baseball League), Josh Womack became a YouTube phenomenon.  The former 2nd round pick of the Seattle Mariners showed off some serious bat tricks.  Womack never made it to the majors having a cup of coffee in AAA with Tacoma, but he is Jedi when it comes to handling the bat.   The original video of Josh doing his big trick has had nearly 4 million views already.  This video goes a little further with some additional tricks, and its quite amazing.  This may be old for some, but its always nice to see some great tricks.  Enjoy.

If you like anything you see, subscribe to the RSS feed.

We are also on Facebook.

I have seen walk off home runs, walk off walks, walk off passed balls, you name it and I have seen it, except this.  In a Memorial Day Single-A game between the Bakersfield Blaze and the Visalia Rawhide, the game erupted in a donnybrook.

With the game tied 1-1 in the 10th inning, Engel Beltre (a Texas Ranger prospect) hits a walk off home run to right field.  This marked the start of a one minute seven second trot around the bases.  As he nears 3rd base, he begins jawing with some of the unhappy Rawhide players.  A full on fight breaks out before he can touch home plate.  It didn’t seem as though Beltre was as interested in scoring as he was in participating in the fight.  The video is below.

Beltre finally finishes his romp around the bases with a one finger salute to the Rawhide team as he touches home.  Beltre was acquired in the Eric Gagne deal from Boston in 2007.  Seven players have been suspended for the altercation, including a 5 game stint for Beltre.