Prior to Washington Nationals start outfielder Bryce Harper being diagnosed with a bad bone bruise on the left knee, his manager Dusty Baker told reporters he hoped that people would take the time to pray for Harper.
Washington will easily win the National League East even though Harper, there superstar, who is just 24, will miss time down the stretch.
Major League Baseball has seen several injuries to superstars in 2017. Mike Trout, who had been on pace to record his best ever season of his young career, missed 39 games after he tore a ligament in this left thumb while sliding head first into a base.
The news was better than they expected, but will miss the team’s best player. When he hurt his knee on Saturday, it appeared to be torn ligaments but x-rays revealed only significant bone bruising that will likely cost the superstar the rest of the regular season.
Fans, players and media sat around for three hours Friday before any announcement that the game was postponed. The players apparently know about a half hour before the rest of the group.
On Saturday, it rained for hours prior to the game starting after 10:00 pm. By the time the first inning had ended Harper had injured himself.
With the title in the NL East all but secured, as Washington leads Miami by 14 games, the Nationals will not rush their star back into the lineup with just 46 regular season games remaining.
The Nationals can now experiment with Andres Stevenson, Brian Goodwin and Howie Kendrick, who is newly acquired, to determine what is the best outfield to play, as the postseason approaches.
Anthony Rendon, who has been overlooked the entire season and might be the most underrated MLB player, now can improve his candidacy for MVP without Harper over shadowing him.
This season has been mired by superstars being injured and those that suffer most are the fans because when the attend games they want to see their team’s stars playing and not sitting in the dugout.
