Everyone enjoys a good rivalry especially when it is in good fun. For Atlanta Braves fans, finding a common ground in hating Bryce Harper, Jose Urena, or really anyone that plays for the Mets, Phillies, Cardinals, and/or Dodgers is a big part of what makes following baseball fun. Sure, you want to root for the Braves, but boy is it fun to boo a nemesis.
With that in mind, Michael Harris II has brought his friendly “beef” with Lawrence Butler to the forefront this offseason. The two friends have been relentless in claiming back and forth who is the faster player of two with speedster prospect Chandler Simpson also being in the debate as well.
Normally, these sorts of things are over with pretty quick as there is usually a bit of a back and forth and it dies off shortly afterwards. However, Money Mike is not having it as he doubled down by not only saying that he is the fastest of the bunch, but Harris also provided video that he says proves it.
Michael Harris II says video proves he is faster than Lawrence Butler, but that is very debatable
First of all, this is hilarious. Obviously all of these guys had a great time playing with each other in their amateur days. It is objectively great that they are taking their friendly rivalry and letting it continue in the big leagues even though they are on separate teams these days.
That said, Harris’ claim that the video clearly shows he beat Butler in a foot race is a bit misleading. Looking at the video, the race between Harris, Butler, and Simpson looks incredibly close. That, in itself, is pretty wild as Simpson is widely considered to be one of the fastest guys in professional baseball period. Butler has already responded by making his own claim that the video actually shows that he barely got the best of Harris and frankly, we wouldn’t have expected any less out of him.
One hopes that this ends in an actual rematch at some point. Opportunities in-season for the two to face off are going to be limited. However, the Braves do travel to the A’s in early July and it is probably fair to guess that both Butler and Harris will be off and running when that series goes down.
