Bryce Harper: Cole Hamels Admits to Plunking Nationals Rookie on Purpose

Cole Hamels may have just earned himself a short suspension.

In the first inning of Sunday night's game against the division rival Washington Nationals, Hamels hit rookie Bryce Harper with a pitch just under Harper's right arm.

No big deal, right?

Wrong.

After the game, Hamels admitted to the The Philadelphia Inquirer's Matt Gelb that he hit Harper intentionally:

"

I was trying to hit him. I’m not going to deny it. It’s something I grew up watching. That’s what happened. I’m just trying to continue the old baseball. Some people get away from it. I remember when I was a rookie, the strike zone was really, really small and you didn’t say anything. That’s the way baseball is. Sometimes the league is protecting certain players. It’s that old-school prestigious way of baseball.

"

Hamels later added that he had no intentions of hurting Harper, but that's no excuse.

He deserves a suspension, and he should miss at least one start.

Harper did not miss out on an opportunity to exact revenge on Hamels, though, and he did so promptly.

After reaching first, Harper moved to third on a Jayson Werth single.

Hamels then proceeded to attempt a pickoff of Werth at first, at which point Harper broke for home plate. He scored safely under the tag of Carlos Ruiz for his first career stolen base.

Harper may be just a rookie, but it seems as if he has established his first rivalry.