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Bryce Harper was not happy when Rob Manfred came into the Philadelphia Phillies’ clubhouse this past July. The Major League Baseball commissioner was there to discuss the next collective bargaining agreement and a potential salary cap.
Harper reportedly cursed out Manfred when the subject was brought up. Jeff Passan reported at the time that “Harper stood nose to nose with Rob Manfred” during the meeting. Harper also told Manfred “to ‘get the f— out of our clubhouse’ if he wanted to talk about the potential implementation of a salary cap.”
Rob Manfred would later try to downplay the negative interaction with Bryce Harper. “I think more has been made out of this than needs to be,” he said a few days after the meeting. He also added that he and Harper shook hands following their conversation.
Bryce Harper’s agent paints a far different picture than Rob Manfred did
“So, Manfred, the commissioner of baseball, thought it was a good idea to do a tour of Major League teams during the season and go into clubhouses and address the players directly, discussing some of the economic issues facing owners,” Bryce Harper’s agent Allan Walsh said on his Agent Provocateur podcast this week. “And he wanted to get that facetime direct, in front of the players.
“Now, one could argue that maybe that’s an unfair labor practice, right? But the union’s position was they want to talk to the players. We’re not threatened by that at all. You get up there and you go have your say, which I really admire and respect.
“So, Manfred is in Philadelphia and he’s addressing the Philadelphia Phillies, who happen to have a player on their team by the name of Bryce Harper. And the address before the players in the clubhouse starts touching on the economic disparity between clubs, the competitive imbalance, how certain big market teams with deep pockets are able to outspend and it’s not fair. And he’s going on and on and on and he’s now leading into the need for a salary cap. And Bryce Harper is a very strong union guy. And he’s a leading voice in the clubhouse.
“He’s watching Manfred – from people who were in the room who shared this with me – he’s watching Manfred and finally when the conversation touched on salary caps, Bryce Harper said, he stood up and he interrupted Manfred’s address to the players. And he said – and this was widely reported as well, I’m not spilling any secrets here. ‘If you’re going to stand up here and talk about a salary cap in my clubhouse,’ directly to the commissioner in front of the entire team, ‘get the f— out of here.’
“And Manfred was stunned but responded, ‘I am not getting the f— out of here. I’m going to continue talking and saying what I’m saying.’ And there was an extended then back and forth between them. Manfred continued on for a little bit and then he was done.
Harper’s agent alleges an MLB official actually threatened the Phillies star
“Now, I’ve spoken, like I said, to people in the room,” Walsh continued. “This is the part that has never been reported. I wasn’t there. I can’t swear on a stack of Bibles that this was actually said. But there are people personally in the room who have shared this with me. So, I’m giving you the necessary limitations. This is alleged to what was said next.
“Harper and a few other players were now in a discussion afterwards with Manfred and some of Manfred’s staff, including I believe the deputy commissioner who was also there. And in the course of this conversation, which also got heated, someone with Manfred, not Manfred, but somebody with him, like a deputy commissioner, said to Harper, ‘Don’t EVER say that again to the commissioner. Don’t ever disrespect him again publicly like that. That’s how people end up in a ditch.’ And that was never reported.”