Categories: 2023 Highlights

Benches clear in Phillies-Rockies finale; Jake Bird’s and Bryce Harper’s comments on incident

Bryce Harper was at the center of Sunday’s benches-clearing incident between the Phillies and Rockies. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

The Phillies may have been on a five-game winning streak, but a frustrating day offensively and a few heated exchanges with umpires caused tensions to rise in Sunday’s series finale against the Colorado Rockies.

They boiled over in the seventh inning, and chaos ensued.

Rockies pitcher Jake Bird had just retired Bryson Stott to end a once-threatening top of the inning, and as Bird celebrated the final out, he yelled toward the Phillies’ dugout while walking off the field before clapping his hands together and tauntingly smiling in the Phillies’ direction.

Bryce Harper took exception. He stormed out of the dugout and charged toward Bird, who welcomed the confrontation. Both benches and bullpens cleared while multiple players from both teams tried to hold Harper back.

Bird told reporters, including Danielle Allentuck of the Colorado Springs Gazette and Denver Gazette, after the game that his celebration wasn’t directed at anyone in particular. He said it didn’t have anything to do with Harper’s exchange with a few Rockies fans after his long homer in the ninth on Saturday.

“It’s a good team and a big moment,” Bird said. “I got a little emotional out there. Probably a little too emotional. And they took exception to it … I just gotta keep it within, to myself, a little better.

“I was [surprised by the Phillies’ reaction], for sure. I had my little celebration thing real quick on the pop out, and thought it was just a normal walk back to the dugout. Then I saw him coming out. It is what it is.”

Per Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Harper said postgame he took exception to Bird targeting the Phillies with his celebration, and that Bird essentially disappeared once the benches emptied.

It had been a frustrating afternoon for the Phillies leading up to the fracas. Five times (then once more in the ninth), they put a runner on second with zero or one out, with nothing to show for it. One of those blown opportunities came when Kyle Schwarber was rung up on a full-count pitch above the zone. Schwarber had a heated exchange with home plate umpire Ryan Wills before Rob Thomson argued and got himself ejected.

Then in the seventh, Edmundo Sosa grounded into a double play with two on and no outs. However, Rockies second baseman Harold Castro appeared to have taken his foot off the bag early. When the Phillies tried to challenge, the umpiring crew didn’t allow it — perhaps because they didn’t see the challenge attempt in time, perhaps because it wasn’t made in time in the first place. Wills got into a shouting match with Phillies bench coach (and acting manager) Mike Calitri while the whole dugout, led by Schwarber, shouted at Wills.

Then, in the at bat preceding the mayhem, Stott dropped his bat and started to head to first base thinking he drew a walk, but Wills called a strike instead. Stott slammed his bat after flying out on the next pitch; Harper had done the same on a flyout earlier in the game.

Bird’s chirping was the final straw. He and Harper were both ejected.

“He’s a great player and he plays with emotion,” Bird said of Harper. “I love that he plays with emotion. He’s a player I look up to. So, obviously, in the future, I hope I get to compete against him and go head-to-head. He’s a great player. He’s awesome.”

It’s possible that suspensions are levied (to Harper and/or Bird) as a result of the incident. As of 7 p.m. ET, MLB had not announced additional discipline; that likely wouldn’t come for a few days.