Bryce Harper already had six hits, several highlight-reel catches and throws plus enough publicity to make a Hollywood heartthrob envious, but he wasn't a true big leaguer until Sunday night.

At least that's the way Cole Hamels felt before the Philadelphia Phillies pitcher planted a 93-mph fastball in the lower back of Harper, the Washington Nationals' 19-year-old rookie.

"I was trying to hit him," Hamels said after the game, quite the revelation at a time when NFL bounties and NHL playoff fights are part of the daily sports diet.