Dan Patrick wasn’t a fan of how Bryce Harper handled himself with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, calling it “embarrassing” for the Phillies superstar.
As The Post reported Monday, Harper got into a heated blowup last Monday when Manfred visited the Phillies’ clubhouse when the MLB commissioner started to wade into the waters of talking salary cap.
Harper interrupted Manfred, with the former using profanity when he confronted the MLB head.
The sports talk host did not agree with how the Phillies’ first baseman addressed Manfred.
“The commissioner at least came in to talk to the players, and then you’re going to react that way?” Patrick said Tuesday on his eponymous sports radio show. “Instead of being mature, instead of saying to Rob Manfred, ‘You and me, let’s talk about this,’ or maybe the commissioner should’ve given Bryce Harper a heads up and said, ‘Hey, I’m gonna bring this up. What do you think?’
“And then Bryce Harper might’ve said, ‘Don’t bring it up. Don’t bring that in here. It’s not going to go well. But I give the commissioner credit. He’s at least trying to talk to the players.”
The commissioner’s office is hoping to move Major League Baseball in line with the other three big leagues in North America — the NHL, NBA and NFL — that have salary caps, though MLB has not publicly stated that’s something it wants in its next collective bargaining agreement.
The incident between Harper and Manfred occurred amid the commissioner’s ongoing tour to visit the players of every team.
“But, for Bryce Harper to act that way,” Patrick said. “Like, who are you? You got your money. You’re good. Maybe you’re fighting for everyone else. I understand that. But this is the commissioner of the game. He’s at least talking to you. Would you have more respect if he didn’t say something to you? If he hid? I was disappointed in Bryce Harper. I was embarrassed for him.”
Patrick did say he understood the players’ unhappiness with the idea of a potential salary cap.