One of baseball's most prolific and notorious showboaters, Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez, publicly stated he agreed with what Bryce Harper said about baseball being "tired." After all, you cannot have a conversation about showboating in baseball without bringing up an incident Gomez is famous for.
Brian McCann, then an Atlanta Brave, famously blocked Gomez, then a Milwaukee Brewer, from home plate in September 2013 when Gomez admired a long home run a few seconds too long. Gomez appeared to be shouting back and forth with several Braves players all around the bases and the benches eventually emptied onto the field as a fight ensued.
Now heading into a new season with the Astros, Gomez seemed glad a person with Harper's visibility as the National League's reigning MVP and one of the best players in the game addressed the issue.
"The game has been like that for so long," Gomez said Friday. "But when the people speak, especially when they have influence on other people, they're going to get heard. If he's talking that way, he's going to be fine."
Harper's comments came from an ESPN: The Magazine feature aptly titled "Sorry Not Sorry." The Washington Nationals outfielder said baseball's "code" or its set of unwritten rules has grown "tired." He then pointed to players in other sports that are far more popular with young fans (football and basketball) like Cam Newton and Stephen Curry as being celebrated for their "flair."
Shortly after Harper's comments were widely circulated, 64-year-old Hall of Fame relief pitcher Goose Gossage ranted about the state of baseball. He called Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista "a f--king disgrace to the game" for his playoff home run bat flip.
As MLB tries to appeal to younger fans, showboating and on-field celebrations have caused a divide with new- and old-school frames of mind. In MLB's previous era, home run celebrations deemed too extravagant would subject the hitter - or his teammate - to a fastball between the shoulder blades.
Harper has since responded to the fallout from his ESPN interview and stood by his "tired" comment, arguing kids opt to play basketball and football because those sports are more "fun." He also said the answer is not necessarily seeing more home runs and higher scores.
Gomez had similar thoughts as well, arguing fans pay to see pitchers that are exciting and who will get fired up after a big strike out.
"Jose Fernandez, I love watching that kid pitch," Gomez said. "I love [it]. But Max Scherzer is my favorite. His emotion on the mound is like, 'OK, let me see how good you are. This is a slider. This is my curve, this is my fastball. Hit it now.'"
"If you hit it, he's excited to face you again! That's his motivation. That's his competitiveness. He don't mean to show you up. He means, 'I'm good. Let me see how good you are.' It's the game. Everybody should be like that," he added.
