No less than five months ago the San Francisco Giants were throwing $300+ million dollars at Bryce Harper, begging him to join their team. Last night their fans jeered, mocked, and booed him mercilessly, all while the superstar outfielder dragged his struggling ballclub to a 9-6 victory.
After a rough, and I mean ROUGH, last two months of baseball for the Phils, the team desperately needed a spark. With Gabe Kapler running out of options as his team slowly drops out of playoff contention, he somewhat said “screw it” last night, throwing Harper in at leadoff in a must-win NL Wildcard matchup.
Despite this being a historically bad lineup spot for Bryce Harper throughout his career, it was clear that Bryce was up to the challenge. With the Phils trailing by just 1 in the top of the 5th inning, Harper stepped up to the plate with a chorus of “overrated” chants and boos following his introduction. One pitch later and the baseball was in the stands.
🤫#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/SSo09XG0U5
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 10, 2019
Now Harper was clearly not satisfied with just one mammoth homer, as he managed to outshine himself with yet another bomb in the 7th inning. With two base runners on and the Phillies now trailing by 1, Bryce launched an absolute missile into right center field. This one cleared everything, satisfyingly plopping into the deep blue water of McCovey Cove. Easily the longest homer I’ve personally seen hit at Oracle Park.
I think a certain someone got tired of losing…
2 MONSTER homers tonight along with 4 RBIs for the most underrated player in baseball. #Phillies #RingTheBell #BryceHarper pic.twitter.com/SkLiKAuGc0
— David Esser (@DavidEsser_) August 10, 2019
The Bryce Harper I watched last night reminded me of the Nationals’ MVP Bryce Harper of 2015. Fiery, powerful, clutch, and ever so arrogant. From shushing the crowd to emphatically celebrating with his teammates, I loved every bit of it. The 2019 Phils are still in a bad spot even after such an awesome win, but seeing stuff like this from Harper gives me a fleeting (somewhat nonsensicual) flash of hope.
Twitter: @phillyinsider99
-David Esser via Philly Sports Insider