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Baker gives Harper night off to clear head
- Updated: September 20, 2016
MIAMI — Nationals manager Dusty Baker gave Bryce Harper the night off for Monday night’s series opener, a “mental day” after Baker had sensed waning concentration from the reigning Most Valuable Player.
“You can just see a difference in a person, most of the time it’s concentration,” Baker said. “Sometimes when you get a little tired, you have trouble concentrating, at least holding that concentration for a long period of time. It was just time [for a break].”
Harper displayed signs of frustration in Sunday’s 6-2 loss to Atlanta. After lining out in the fourth inning, he whipped his helmet into the dugout on his way back inside. At that point, he was hitless in 17 consecutive at-bats, …
