PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper was ejected on Thursday night in the third inning against Pittsburgh following an outburst toward third base umpire Ángel Hernández on a checked strike three.
Phillies Radio Network's Scott Franzke explains what happened after Harper struck out:
"He's walking towards third. And now he's been tossed.
"Harper is walking out there, helmet in hand. He's now almost about 10 feet from third base, walking all the way out to have his say with Ángel Hernández, and Bryce Harper now nose to nose with Hernández.
"Harper just chucks his batting helmet into the crowd over the netting behind the dugout. It goes into about the fifth row, and now a scrum for the souvenir."
KYW's Dave Uram caught up with 10-year-old Hayden Dorfman, who wound up with Harper's helmet after he threw it into the crowd.
"So Bryce throws it over the netting," Hayden said. "A bunch of big, old dads went in — and then I try going in to see if I can make an effort. And then they started going 'Give it to the kid!' and that kind of worked."
Asked how he felt when he got the helmet, Hayden said, "Complete shock. I did not think it was gonna happen."
Hayden says he's going to put the helmet on display in his room.
And how cool is this? The Phillies sent someone down to the stands so they could bring the helmet to Harper to sign it for Hayden during the game.