Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson acknowledged before Wednesday’s NLDS Game 3 against the Braves that there was “a lot of talk of the [Orlando] Arcia thing” among the players in his clubhouse, referring to controversial comments made in the Atlanta clubhouse after a baserunning miscue by by Bryce Harper contributed to a dramatic ending of Game 2.
After Harper was doubled up at first base to end NLDS Game 2, Jake Mintz of FOX Sports set the scene for what the Braves clubhouse was like after a victory, including Arcia making repeated jokes at Harper’s expense.
“While Riley’s blast flipped the score, Harris’ outrageous snag and Harper’s consequent blunder was the talk of Atlanta’s locker room after the game. Kevin Pillar’s young son, sporting a custom ‘Money Mike’ headband, waddled over to his favorite center fielder for a fist bump. Third-string catcher Chadwick Tromp strutted by Harris’ locker offering a congratulatory ‘Mike is him!’ All while Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia cackled emphatically about Harper’s misfortune, bellowing ‘ha-ha, atta-boy, Harper,’ repeatedly as reporters circled the room.”
Whether or not those comments led to what happened in Game 3 or not, history will remember it that way, as Harper clubbed two home runs against the Braves in a 10-2 beatdown that’s put the Phillies on the brink of ending an Atlanta season that’s felt destined for a World Series victory for most of the season.
There was some attempt over the last 24 hours on social media to suggest that the comments weren’t made at all. That’s not the case. They were. And after Game 3, Arcia’s case wasn’t that he didn’t the comments, but rather that the comments he made shouldn’t have been published.
“He wasn’t supposed to hear it, that’s why we were talking in the clubhouse,” Arcia said, through the team interpreter.
Harper did hear the comments, and responded with a legendary performance in a career destined for Cooperstown. As he trotted around the bases after each home run, Harper made sure to stare at Arcia once he touched second base.
Arcia didn’t seem particularly interested after the game in discussing the staredowns that he received from Harper.
“I can’t control where he looks. He can look wherever he wants to look,” Arcia said.
But much of the session with Arcia involved his take on what the media should and shouldn’t put out to the public.
“I mean, when you’re in the clubhouse, I was under the impression you could just say whatever you wanted,” Arcia said. “I guess it’s just something that was reported.”
Braves veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud echoed the sentiments from Arcia.
“The clubhouse is a sanctuary, and I think when things like that get out, it doesn’t make people want to talk to the media at all,” d’Arnaud said. “It affects the people who have been great to us all year, and it is what it is.”
There are unquestionably things that you see and hear in an MLB clubhouse as a media member that you shouldn’t and/or can’t put out to the public. You don’t want to burn bridges with players and teams, nor is every conversation that’s had in the vicinity of the media fair game to be reported on.
The difference in this case is that there were swarms of reporters present after Game 2, many of whom do not cover the Braves on a daily basis throughout the season. Things are a lot less laid back during the postseason. And when you repeatedly yell something in the presence of reporters, it’s going to get reported on. That’s their job.
Arcia broke out in 2023, becoming an All-Star in his age-28 season. But he’s spent parts of eight seasons in the majors, with two different clubs. Whether it’s right or wrong, he should have known that if he repeatedly said something at the expense of one of the faces of the league with media present, it would be reported on. And it should. This wasn’t something he was saying in the distance to a teammate, unaware that the media was around. He said it loudly on multiple occasions, during the period postgame where the media was in the clubhouse.
Now, the comments themselves weren’t especially offensive, but athletes take any small piece of “bulletin-board material” and internalize it to build extra motivation. That’s probably not a healthy way to process things mentally, but if it helps you gain an edge on other world-class athletes, so be it. And it would appear that Arcia’s comments got back to Harper, and at least played a small role in helping the Phillies inch closer to eliminating the Braves for the second consecutive year.
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