Hustle. What is hustle? One who hustles, according to definition, is “one who moves hurriedly or unceremoniously in a specified direction.” You can’t control how much natural ability you are born with or your god-given talent, but you can control how much hustle you put forward. But how much hustle is needed constantly? And are there times when lack of hustle is forgiven?

During Washington’s Sunday loss to the Phillies, former Phillie, Jonathan Papelbon and NL MVP frontrunner Bryce Harper got into a brawl after Harper’s popout late in the game involving Harper’s hustle. Papelbon was upset that Harper was not hustling down the line to first as hard as he could have been. But taking a look at the lackluster season that this once World Series favorite Washington Nationals team has had, this might have just been a way to let out some frustration.

Papelbon’s actions have been criticized by many players and spectators for attacking this superstar in a meaningless game at the end of the season. Papelbon’s the wrong guy to be calling out Harper; not that anyone should be, but a closer is right there near the bottom of the list. Former player, now MLB network commentator, Mark DeRosa had an issue with Papelbon’s actions.

“Here’s my problem with Jonathan Papelbon. You’ve played 63 innings this year…. All the great closers I played with, they’re not gonna get down there in the first inning. You’re top-stepping a guy who’s played in 1,262 innings, who’s hitting .336 with 41 homers, is gonna be the National League MVP and you’re questioning whether or not he goes to the post every day. No reliever should tell a position player anything about hustle. Go stand out there in the rain, sleet, and snow while you guys are giving up gap shots. That bother[s] me,” explained DeRosa on MLB network.

DeRosa’s comments pinpoint the right times to hustle and in fact indicate that there are exceptions to this important part of the game and a pop fly is surely one of them.

While Papelbon is being criticized for a bonehead mistake of fighting not only a teammate but the star player, Harper is also receiving judgment for not hustling out the pop fly. Joe Maddon, who is likely going to win his third Manager of the Year Award, this season, famously has one rule: “Run hard to first base. It’s a simple thing.” While hustle is an extremely important aspect in baseball, there are times where people need to understand that it is not needed at all times. In the 155th game of the year during a season where his team is not going to make the playoffs and they leading the game, Bryce Harper and most players will not be sprinting to first base after hitting a popout to the outfield at the end of the game.

Harper is in the right here and any criticism is foolish and just another excuse for people jumping on this widespread idea that Harper is a lazy, young punk who should know his place. Let’s be clear about Harper’s place: He is arguable the best active baseball player in the world, likely the Most Valuable Player in the National League and a 22-year-old who still has potential to be one of the greatest to ever play the game of Baseball. Now that that is out of the way, people need to realize that if you watched the play, Harper actually still made it to the base as the ball was caught so Papelbon’s reaction was again overblown. Harper is also praised for his hustle when he constantly runs out base hits, turning sure singles into risky doubles throughout the season so his hustle should not even be in question over one play.

The people that say that you need to hustle hard every single play no matter what, even on a pop up to the outfield that you would beat out anyway, need to stop being close-minded and realize that of course during a competitive sport you need to be hustling on important plays, but there are always times when it is not needed. That is what some of the elite players understand. We have Jimmy Rollins, an iconic Philly legend, jogging out pop ups sometimes too. Why would someone sprint as fast as they can to first base just to be called out? You can’t question how hard Rollins plays just because of that though, as some people are doing with Harper right now.

If these players have made it to a professional level, the question of their hustle should not even be in the conversation. There is no real measure for how hard someone plays; everyone is different in how they show it. The winning teams don’t get questioned even if they show no hustle. The losing teams, no matter how hard they play, get criticized for simple mistakes like hustle because people just need to find a reason.

Sources:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/former-player-scathing-down-jonathan-200700275.html;_ylt=AwrC1DG0EgtWJD0AQQdNbK5_;_ylu=X3oDMTByMDgyYjJiBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw