Bryce Harper didn’t win the Home Run Derby in his home ballpark. He didn’t even get out of the first round. But ask him how it felt to step into the cage at Citizens Bank Park as the hometown guy, and the answer is pretty clear.
“I had a blast,” Harper told reporters, including Dave Uram of 94WIP. “It was amazing, obviously. They showed out and did what they do. It was really fun to be a part of that, just to be here and go out there and hit some homers. Obviously, me and Kyle wanted to bring it back. But it didn’t happen.”
That “Kyle” he mentioned is Kyle Schwarber, teammate and fellow competitor, the guy he beat in the 2018 final when both were with different teams. Now they share a dugout and a Derby stage. That’s a weird bit of baseball symmetry, and it didn’t quite work out for either of them this time around. Harper managed just eight home runs before getting eliminated. Not the return to glory he probably imagined for the Philly faithful.
Still, there’s something worth noting here: Harper has now spent more of his MLB career with the Phillies than he did with the Nationals. That’s a fact that kind of sneaks up on you. He arrived in 2019 with all the baggage of a megastar leaving D.C., and now he’s just … one of them. The crowd gave him an electric intro, and he felt it.
“They showed out,” he said, and you could hear in his voice that he meant it.
Harper’s season numbers say he’s not slowing down
He’s 33, turning 34 in October, and some people have already started murmuring about decline. But the numbers don’t really back that up. Harper is sitting on an .862 OPS with 20 homers and 57 RBIs at the All-Star break. That’s not just okay. That’s legit production for any hitter, especially one who has dealt with injuries in recent years.
The Phillies are still chasing that World Series title, the one that has eluded them since 2008. Harper is the centerpiece of that pursuit, and while the Derby didn’t go his way, the larger goal is still very much alive. He’s aging like fine wine, as the cliche goes. But in his case, the numbers actually match the metaphor.
One round of an exhibition doesn’t change that.
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