Phillies

Orlando Arcia Says Bryce Harper “Wasn’t Supposed to Hear” Criticism that Left Braves’ Clubhouse

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Oct 11th, 2023 · 9:40 PM EDT

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Bryce Harper homered twice on Wednesday night and twice he stared down Orlando Arcia for chastising him after the baserunning aggression that brought Game 2 to an end. What makes the story even better is this (key quote near the end) –

“He wasn’t supposed to hear.”

Orlando Arcia discusses his comments made about Bryce Harper in the clubhouse after Game 2: pic.twitter.com/n9U3PS3sVr

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) October 12, 2023

Hmm, okay. If you don’t want something getting out, don’t say it while reporters are in the clubhouse.

The original story came from Jake Mintz at Fox Sports, and it said this:

“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.”

Seems pretty straightforward. I originally got hung up on the “circled the room” line, but it seems like scribes were definitely inside the locker room, which means it’s typically fair game to report what you see and what you hear. When Arcia says “I was under the impression…” it seems to imply he wasn’t totally sure about media guidelines in these types of cases, but it’s not like this was some scrum where they switched to an “off the record” thing and the guy printed something he shouldn’t have. Not a Jamie Apody/Matt Gelb “disgrace” kind of thing, if you remember that whole scenario.

But yeah, lesson learned. If you don’t want something getting out, don’t say it while reporters are in the room. Or don’t say it at all.

Phils in 4.

EDIT – I’ll throw this in there too:

d’Arnaud responded to Arcia’s celebration & the quote heard after the Braves win on Monday. pic.twitter.com/LrzTXi2OcU

— Kelly Crull (@Kelly_Crull) October 12, 2023