Bryce Harper Got Ejected For Throwing His Arms Up In The Air

Bryce Harper was ejected in the first inning after throwing his arms up in the air over a strike call made by an umpire 120 feet away.

After Harper tried to check his swing on a pitch, the home plate umpire asked for help from the third base umpire who said Harper had swung, changing the pitch to a strike.

Harper threw his arms up in the air. At that point, John Hirschbeck can be seen walking towards Harper while pointing and yelling. After a few seconds, Hirschbeck threw Harper out of the game.

According to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, Hirschbeck admitted that he initially yelled at Harper simply because he "didn't like that [Harper] put his hands up." However, Kilgore added that Hirschbeck was going to let Harper stay in the game until the young star "slammed his bat and helmet." And yet, if you look at the second GIF below, it's clear that Harper did not slam either piece of equipment.

This is the second time in a week that an umpire confronted a player and escalated a non-situation just because the ump was offended by some body language. Last week, David Price of the Rays got into a verbal war with an umpire which led to a teammate being ejected.

Here's the Harper ejection plus two GIFs that offer a better view of Harper's reaction...