Papelbon on Harper incident: ‘I was in the wrong’
Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon on Friday reiterated an apology for the dugout incident involving him and Bryce Harper toward the end of last season.
“Me and Bryce, we’re good,” Papelbon told reporters. “Like we’ve both said, I’ve apologized to him. I’ve apologized to my teammates. I want to apologize to the fans and the coaches and everyone included, and I think that with what happened last year, I was in the wrong. Should have never went down that way, and I understand that.
“I had a lot of time this off-season to reflect on that. I’ve had three months to think about it. I’ve done a lot of reflecting, and I think sometimes in life, good things can come out of bad situations...I think the main goal is to know that everybody here has each other’s back.”
Papelbon said that he would answer all questions but that Friday would be his last time discussing what happened.
After Harper jogged out a pop-up during a Sept. 27 game the day after the Nationals were eliminated from the postseason, he received an aggressive tirade from the older Papelbon upon returning to the dugout. It ended in a brief physical altercation and Papebon attempting to choke Harper before teammates broke the fight up.
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