Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
For the record, I like Zack Wheeler<\/a> and Bryce Harper<\/a>. They\u2019re principled, they\u2019re authentic, they\u2019re candid, they\u2019re generous to their teammates, and I respect them for both their professionalism and their competitiveness.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not weird.<\/p>\n Wheeler kept the rib<\/a> that he had removed last year to address his thoracic outlet syndrome. Who saves the relic from a surgery that robbed you of 5% of your career? Apparently, a lot of athletes do that. That doesn\u2019t make it not weird.<\/p>\n Harper tries not to put anything in or on his body that isn\u2019t all-natural and\/or organic, from shampoo to lotion to coffee. He flushes and cleans his blood like his circulatory system is a car radiator.<\/p>\n Again, a lot of athletes participate in these behaviors. <\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t make it not weird.<\/p>\n Recently, though, both Wheeler and Harper tipped the weirdness scale beyond its normal scope.<\/p>\n Hey there, you\u2019re an All-Star<\/p>\n First, Wheeler and his All-Star snubbery. <\/p>\n Wheeler missed the first month due to the surgery but then went 8-1 with a 2.36 ERA in his first 13 starts. He was disappointed when he was not selected to the NL All-Star team via either the player ballot or as one of Major League Baseball\u2019s six supplemental selections, announced July 4. Wheeler has said All-Star appointments are significant for him and his Hall of Fame legacy, but then, he declined to attend the game the last two times he was selected.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Wheeler was doubly chapped when, three days after the initial All-Star rosters were announced, he was not selected by MLB to replace one of the three pitchers who, like Wheeler, were scheduled to pitch Sunday, two days before the All-Star Game in Philadelphia; Sunday starters were not eligible to pitch. Wheeler pitched on the day of the announcement, and pitched dominantly. He improved to 9-1 with a 2.28 ERA, after which he said, \u201cIt [ticks] me off, and it\u2019s kind of B.S.\u201d<\/p>\n His point: He, like the other three Sunday starters, could have been named, could have declined, and would have had the All-Star honor on his resum\u00e9. Last Tuesday he said that, before the three replacements were named, he told MLB that he\u2019d even be willing to throw an inning in the All-Star Game, since his bullpen day usually comes two days after a start. <\/p>\n Cool.<\/p>\n What made this a little weird is that one of Wheeler\u2019s teammates, Jes\u00fas Luzardo<\/a>, was one of the pitchers chosen as a replacement. It kind of sounded like Wheeler was promoting himself not just over the other two pitchers but also over his own teammate.<\/p>\n But wait. <\/p>\n Lo and behold, MLB relented. MLB offered Wheels the next spot in the game \u2026 but they did so too late for Wheeler\u2019s taste. It wasn\u2019t until Friday that they asked him to replace Reds pitcher Chase Burns, who backed out with a tight groin. That would have made Wheeler the fifth replacement.<\/p>\n Wheeler said, \u201cI\u2019m not gonna be the fifth option.\u201d<\/p>\n What? So, being the fourth option was OK? <\/p>\n Wheeler has a right to feel however he wants.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t make it not weird.<\/p>\n FanDuel? What FanDuel?<\/p>\n For the record, I don\u2019t think Harper should face disciplinary action for recording a message on Cameo that FanDuel in 2024 used as a vehicle to pander to a client who either was, or who became, a gambling addict, and who now is suing FanDuel (and also DraftKings). The Inquirer <\/a>reported this story last week.<\/p>\n The policy of Major League Baseball in relation to players promoting gambling sites is, like most policies in Major League Baseball, vague and open to interpretation. Harper clearly had no idea the gambler had a problem, if only because Harper wouldn\u2019t risk his reputation over an $899 Cameo fee. Hence, I believe nothing should come of this. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Harper didn\u2019t violate the collective bargaining agreement. The players association remains mum. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board says it is investigating, but with what authority it is investigating and to what end this might affect Harper remains unknown.<\/p>\n Still, it\u2019s kind of weird that Harper, a straight-and-narrow kind of guy, would get in bed with FanDuel at all. <\/p>\n It\u2019s super weird that Harper would deny knowledge that he was doing so.<\/p>\n In a statement posted Monday on Instagram, Harper said, \u201cContrary to the Inquirer\u2019s suggestion, I did not know that the Cameo video would be used for a FanDuel VIP promotion.\u201d<\/p>\n However, in the video to the gambler, Harper refers to \u201cyour host Bryttanni from FanDuel.\u201d<\/p>\n So, yeah. Deny saying something you actually said? Super weird.<\/p>\n Then again, Harper advocated for using aluminum bats in the Home Run Derby (his suggestion was dismissed). They might as well have cruise missiles in the Home Run Derby. Kyle Schwarber<\/a> with an aluminum bat? He\u2019d have killed someone.<\/p>\n This is just the latest. As the kids say, Harper\u2019s been on one.<\/p>\n The day after Christmas, in response to Phillies president Dave Dombrowski<\/a> saying in October that Harper might no longer be elite (which was unwise), Harper, on Dec. 26., posted a TikTok video with him hitting in a batting cage wearing a shirt that said \u201cNOT ELITE.\u201d<\/p>\n When Harper arrived at spring training, in response to the Phillies having added only Adolis Garc\u00eda as a candidate to bolster the No. 4 spot behind him, he said, \u201cI think the numbers in the four spot weren\u2019t very good last year for our whole team. Whoever is in that four spot is going to have a big job to do.\u201d<\/p>\n After the Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson<\/a> in April, Harper\u2019s comment indicated that the Phillies were stuck in the mud because of the manager\u2019s likely dismissal: \u201cI think we were all just waiting for that ball to drop, waiting for something to happen. If Topper was going to get fired or he wasn\u2019t, it was just kind of, \u2018We need to get over this hump and get through this,\u2019 whatever that looked like.\u201d<\/p>\n Since Thomson\u2019s firing, Harper also has supported less platoon play for second baseman Bryson Stott<\/a> and outfielder Brandon Marsh<\/a>. Harper cited Marsh\u2019s everyday inclusion as the major reason Marsh was an All-Star \u2014 again, an admission of disagreement if not an outright criticism of his bosses. Thomson, with input from Dombrowski and the front office, was more likely to platoon those left-handed hitters, while interim replacement Don Mattingly<\/a> has played them more to Harper\u2019s liking.<\/p>\n I agree with Harper\u2019s assertion that everyday play is usually smarter, and, as always, I applaud his candor.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t make it not weird.<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s Philly<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s the heat.<\/p>\n With all due respect to Joel Embiid<\/a>, who might be the weirdest of them all, and new Sixers teammate Jaylen Brown<\/a>, who just called most athletes dummies, no one has faced or now faces more pressure to win in Philadelphia than Wheeler and Harper.<\/p>\n Wheeler, at $42 million a year, is the highest-paid non-hitting pitcher in baseball. Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million contract in 2019, which was then a record. They\u2019ve been worth every penny, and more. Wheeler has been the best pitcher in baseball since he initially signed with Philadelphia in 2020. Harper has sold more tickets than Taylor Swift<\/a>. <\/p>\n However, Wheeler has not won a Cy Young Award. Harper won a second career MVP in 2021, but he\u2019s battled injuries. They\u2019re the best Phillies duo since Mike Schmidt<\/a> and Steve Carlton, and both of them have been magnificent in the postseason, but Harper\u2019s on his fourth manager. Wheeler\u2019s on his third. The Phillies have been to one World Series<\/a> since they became teammates, and their last three trips to the playoffs have ended in bitter disappointment and, arguably, underachievement. <\/p>\n It\u2019s not just them.<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s us.<\/p>\n Philadelphia is a place that can love its own and can eat its own, sometimes in the same game.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong. I love a weird athlete or coach or executive. <\/p>\n Jalen Hurts<\/a> and his aphorisms and his crazy work ethic, riding a VersaClimber at midnight<\/a>. Jason Kelce<\/a> and his berserker persona. A.J. Brown<\/a> reading a book on the sideline during a game.<\/p>\n Ben Simmons with his training camp holdout scrimmaging with his iPhone in his pocket. James Harden<\/a>, with his training camp holdout and his crazy fashions and that tiny mouth inside that massive beard.<\/p>\n Former Phillies manager Gabe Kapler and the Seasons of Coconut Oil<\/a>; stiff-collared Sixers president Bryan Colangelo and his burner accounts<\/a>; former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie and the 13-page Resignation Manifesto<\/a>; former Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov and his fear of bears and his awe at the humongous-ness of the universe; and, of course, Terrell Owens doing biceps curls and situps in his driveway.<\/p>\n I love that Wheeler\u2019s warmup song, \u201cRooster,\u201d came out when he was 2 years old, commemorating a war that began more than 60 years ago. I love that Harper, from cleats to headbands to suit-coat liners, has more Phillie Phanatic<\/a> gear than any 8-year-old Phillies fan.<\/p>\n I\u2019m there for all of it.<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t make it not weird.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min For the record, I like Zack Wheeler and Bryce Harper. 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