Written by Eddie Matz at ESPN.com
Back in 1988, Kirk Gibson authored one of the most memorable postseason moments in baseball history. After injuring both his left hamstring and his right knee in the NLCS against the Mets, Gibson, who ended up being the National League MVP that season, didn’t start Game 1 of the World Series. But in the ninth inning, with two outs and a man on and his Dodgers trailing 4-3 to the A’s, Gibson hobbled to the plate as a pinch hitter. Then, in what would be his only at-bat of the entire series, he proceeded to do this. (If you have 10 minutes, do yourself a favor, and watch the entire clip. If not, this one will suffice.)
Goose. Bumps.
Almost 30 years later, Bryce Harper could be poised to go all Gibby — and on the Dodgers no less. In mid-August, Harper suffered a gruesome-looking knee injury that looked like it had ACL written all over it. According to the Nationals, however, there was no structural damage, and it was merely a bone bruise. Still, the boo-boo was bad enough GM Mike Rizzo said at the time, “The bone bruise is something of significance. We’re going to treat him cautiously. We’re optimistic that he should be back by the end of the year. We have no timeline.”
Last week, reports surfaced that Harper also suffered a calf strain.
Regardless of the specifics of the injury, the bottom line is that Harper doesn’t appear anywhere close to returning to the field, and missing the remainder of the regular season seems like a distinct possibility for him, especially given Washington already has the NL East sewn up. If that happens, who knows what the postseason holds for Harper?
To continue reading this article, click here.
