Bryce Harper hits ‘Ichiro’ single, hustles, goes 2 for 2 against the Mets

When Bryce Harper dug into the batter’s box Monday night in the sixth inning, he decided he would shelve his power for guile. On the mound stood Danny Herrera, one of the funkiest pitchers in baseball. A sawed-off lefty with hair flowing out the back of his cap, Herrera throws fluttering screwballs and looping curves, anything that’s not straight.

And so Harper hatched an unusual plan. As Herrera twirled one of his slow curves, Harper took several steps forward, a head start toward first base, and lashed at the ball.

“I just tried to Ichiro it,” Harper said. “I just tried to put the bat on the ball. That happened, and I just started running.”

And something pretty stunning happened. Harper hit a routine groundball to third base. Vinny Rottino fielded the ball cleanly and made a strong throw to first base. And Harper just beat the throw.

“He hustled,” Manager Davey Johnson said. “He plays hard. He’s a throwback. He plays the game right.”

I don’t think its an exaggeration to call it the greatest spring training infield single of all-time.