On May 13th, Washington Nationals’ outfielder Bryce Harper ran face-first into a chain link fence at Dodger Stadium.  As he collapsed into a crumpled heap on the warning track, the city of Washington, D.C. and Nationals’ fans across the country collectively held their breath.  After several minutes, Harper arose, visibly shaken and writhing in pain.  When all was said and done, Harper required 11 stitches to close the laceration on his chin and X-rays on his ailing left shoulder and knee came back negative. 

Harper was monitored and evaluated by team trainers and Los Angeles based doctors over the next three days.  The consensus among the professionals involved was that he had not sustained a concussion as a result of the collision.  However, all the non-professionals across the country wanted to add their two cents, as usual.  If we add up all those two cents of people who think Harper DOES have a concussion, we’d probably reach six figures.  So although the experts say Harper is concussion-free, is the Washington Nationals organization handling the situation correctly?

The case seems pretty straight forward.  The medical professionals ruled out a concussion, so there is no reason to hold Harper out of the lineup, right?  I think so.  However, I think the reason many people are surprised by the Nationals’ decision to play Harper, is how the organization handled the Stephen Strasburg innings pitched situation in 2012.  It was apparent that General Manager Mike Rizzo was erring on the side of caution in the Strasburg instance, so the logical thing to assume would be that Harper would be held out of the lineup for a period of time for extended observation. 

Harper got one game to recover and was back in the lineup two days later, still in Los Angeles.  The Nationals’ organization, as well as Harper himself, denies any lingering effects of the horrific collision on May 13th.  However, since that game, he is batting a microscopic .154 with only two hits.  This is obviously a small sample size (only 13 at-bats, so it's more likely just a slump), but it’s something to keep in mind moving forward.  If Harper continues to struggle throughout this week, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a second evaluation take place, possibly followed by a period of time off.  As we all know, Harper is an extreme competitor and the only way he won’t be in the lineup is if Mike Rizzo himself gives the order.  Only time will tell if that will be the case.