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Three Reasons Phillies' Cole Hamels Should Have Received More Than A Five-Game Suspension

By: Pat Caputo

Three reasons Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels should have received more than a five-game suspension from Major League Baseball for deliberately hitting Washington Nationals rookie Bryce Harper with a pitch Sunday:

1. Hamels won't really miss a start. It doesn't hurt his team at all, just Hamels a bit in the pocket book.

2. Hamels wasn't protecting a teammate. It was totally instigating an incident. The Nationals responded later by hitting Hamels with a pitch.

3. You can injure somebody severely with a pitched baseball, perhaps even kill them. Pitching inside is part of the game. It's one thing, deliberately hitting somebody, and then almost bragging about it, another.

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