The Philadelphia Phillies have built a World Series contender from top to bottom. They have a pitching staff filled with Cy Young hopefuls and a lineup that is chock-full of players unfazed by baseball’s biggest moments. A man who has been at the forefront of that movement is their star first baseman Bryce Harper.
Harper, now 32, signed with the Phillies as a free-agent prior to the 2019 season on a 13-year, $330 million deal, the largest in sports history at the time of signing. He has become something of a hero in Philadelphia, now in his seventh season with the Phillies. He has led the team to multiple playoff runs while setting the tone for what it means to rise to the occasion with a title always in mind.
Bryce Harper shows his haters that he’s a different player now with an enlightened take on Phillies’ early struggles
Outside of Philadelphia, Harper isn’t always viewed as this popular leader by other baseball fans. Harper’s latest response to the Phillies’ up-and-down start to the season will be foreign to the haters that Harper has had over the years.
After the Phillies’ 6-4 win on Tuesday, Harper had some enlightened thoughts about the team’s struggles, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. He spoke about just appreciating and enjoying the grind of a long season — a response that undoubtably will come as a surprise to Harper’s detractors.
“Life could be a lot harder. Life can be a lot tougher. We get to play this beautiful game every day. I was standing in the on-deck circle in the third inning and I was thinking about it, ‘Man, it’s a great game we get to play,'” Harper said, per Zolecki. “Obviously, you’re going to get your ups and downs in life and in the season. It’s a hard thing to do. It is. But at the end of the day, we’re all healthy, we’re all strong. Just go out there and enjoy it because it’ll go quick and you’ll start thinking to yourself, ‘Why did I take it so serious? And it’s gone now.'”
Early in his career with the Washington Nationals, Harper was heavily regarded as a brash “punk” kid when he came into the league as a 19-year-old. He had an edge to him that rubbed fans, and some players, the wrong way.
An instance that people point to is the dugout altercation between Harper and former Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon. The passion that Harper plays with made him an easy target for criticism and annoyed outside fans continuously, which in turn made them start hating him as a player. The icing on the cake was the Nationals winning the World Series in 2019, the year Harper left in free agency.
Him talking about loving the game and knowing what the important things are in life surely dumps water on that hater fire.
“I’m just so thankful to play this game,” Harper added, per Zolecki. “I’m so thankful to play in this park. I think guys put so much stress on themselves. I do it. I do it every night. I probably do it more than most, and I have my whole career. I’m very tough on myself and very hard on myself. But when I see young guys or people going through it, it’s a tough game, it’s a tough thing to get through. We’re a family in here. I want our young guys, I want our older guys, to enjoy this game and enjoy the moment of being here and being a Philadelphia Phillie.”
When he came to Philadelphia, fans were elated, but maybe among them was residual hate from Harper’s 24 career home runs in 110 games against the Phillies as a member of the Nationals. Since first putting on the Phillie Phanatic cleats for Opening Day in 2019, Harper has become one of the most beloved Phillies of all time. All talk of his previous cocky passion has manifested itself into the fiery postseason legend that Phillies fans couldn’t imagine life without.
Coming into a passionate city like Philadelphia, doubts about Harper’s leadership and maturity melted away rather quickly. The narrative now feels more like a Hall of Famer that got a late start to his career. Harper has felt right at home here and has lived up to every expectation so far. The only thing that’s needed to truly finally quiet the haters is that sacred World Series ring.
