The most controversial pitch of the Giants’ 2017 season belongs to right-handed reliever Hunter Strickland.
On May 29, Strickland reached back and delivered a 97-mile per hour fastball that clocked Nationals’ outfielder Bryce Harper directly in his hip.
An enraged Harper raced out of the batter’s box and charged the mound at AT&T Park, where he and Strickland exchanged blows in one of the ugliest brawls in baseball this season.
To date, the Giants are still living with the repercussions.
When Harper left the box, first baseman Michael Morse raced in from the corner of the infield while pitcher Jeff Samardzija sprinted over from the Giants’ dugout. Instead of protecting their pitcher, Samardzija and Morse crashed into one another in a collision that left Morse with a significant concussion that landed him on the disabled list.
Though Strickland was eventually suspended six games for his role in inciting the brawl, Morse is the player who came out of the brawl in a more unstable state.
Over time, Morse’s symptoms did not subside, and the 35-year-old elected to return home from Florida to recover from the head trauma with his family. It’s been more than a month since manager Bruce Bochy addressed Morse’s health on the record, and he said he hoped that Morse might be able to return to the club in September.
While Morse is still a member of the Giants’ 40-man roster, his potential comeback looks increasingly unlikely. It’s possible that Morse will visit the Giants when the team heads to Miami for a three-game set on Monday, but first, San Francisco must navigate through a Washington team that’s running away with the National League East.
This weekend, Strickland and the Giants are in Washington, D.C. where they’ll face the Nationals for a three-game set for the first time since the late-May brawl.
At the time of the incident, San Francisco was already headed toward the National League West cellar, but Strickland was pitching well. On the day he hit Harper, his ERA was 1.53 and opponents were hitting just .231 against the 28-year-old.
Since then, Strickland has battled a few command issues, but for the most part, he’s been a solid set-up option in the Giants’ bullpen. With Mark Melancon on the disabled list and Sam Dyson taking over as the Giants’ interim closer, Strickland has demonstrated proficiency in the eighth inning and in his last eight outings, he hasn’t allowed an earned run.
If the Giants take a lead late into a game against the Nationals, a big if at this point in the season, manager Bruce Bochy hypothesized how the Washington fan base would receive an appearance from Strickland.
“He’ll probably get a standing ovation,” Bochy joked. “I know how well-loved he is there.”
Bochy went on to say that he believes both Strickland and Harper have put the incident behind them, and acknowledged that what took place is a fact of life in baseball.
“He (Strickland) has, I think both of them have, it’s one of those incidents you have to put behind you,” Bochy said. “They happen throughout the game of baseball and it won’t be the last time.”
Should Strickland and Harper face off this weekend, it’s unlikely that any fireworks would take place. But unfortunately for the Giants, if something did happen, Morse won’t be around to step in.
