3-for-3. Two homers. 3 RBIs. A walk. All in a close 7-6 Nationals win. Bryce Harper is pulling ahead in the MVP standings (which can be found after the jump).
Honorable mentions: Daniel Nava, Lorenzo Cain, Joey Votto, Chris Davis, Mike Trout, A good chunk of the Cleveland Indians
From Leo Durocher:
“Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand.”
The MVP of Yesterday is the Mets’ Matt Harvey, who out-pitched Stephen Strasburg, going 7 innings of 4-hit and one run ball while striking out seven.
Honorable Mentions: Travis Hafner, Yu Darvish, Wandy Rodriguez, Justin Ruggiano
MVP Standings (below jump):
Today’s quote comes from Bob Feller, on his time in World War 2:
I’m no hero. Heroes don’t come back. Survivors return home. Heroes never come home. If anyone thinks I’m a hero, I’m not.
By way of Reddit and Twitter, here’s how the Colorado Rockies scouted Derek Jeter of Kalamazoo, Michigan back in 1992:
Let’s see here… this Rockies scout figured he had below-average hitting potential, but good speed, fielding, arm strength and especially “make-up” (INTANGIBLES!) . He noted that Jeter physically resembled Gary Green, then in the Reds organization, and declared that, despite his flaws, he was athletic enough to adapt and improve. He finished by noting that Jeter was a future All-Star and would almost certainly sign out of High School (although he had signed with the University of Michigan as a “security blanket).
Of course, Jeter was gone long before the Rockies’ first pick that year (they had the 27th pick, a result of being a expansion team that was not to start playing until 1993). Still, an interesting look at the early days of one of the game’s great players.
Yesterday’s MVP was Chris Johnson of the Braves, who went 3-4 with a HR and 2 RBIs in a tight 6-4 win over Pittsburgh.
Honorable mentions: Matt Wieters, Cody Ross, Yovani Gallardo
MVP Standings after the Jump:
I can’t honestly say that I appreciate the way in which he changed baseball — from a game of science to an extension of his powerful slugging — but he was the most natural and unaffected man I ever knew. No one ever loved life more. No one ever inspired more youngsters. I have reverence for his marvelous ability . I look forward to meeting him again some day.
Bryce Harper may not have had the most RBIs or the clutchest hits. But he did have 4 hits… despite flu-like symptoms that had him at one point vomiting between innings.
With this, Harper becomes the first two-time winner of the MVP of Yesterday- the standings can be seen after jump:
The Baseball Continuum 