Bryce Harper KNEW The Nats Were Winning The World Series After The Corbin Signing
In a rare interview for Barstool Sports Starting 9 podcast, Phillies star Bryce Harper opened up for two hours about his life in quarantine and his baseball career thus far. His story is a great American tale about a young prodigy who worked hard to make it big as the first overall pick and make his Major League debut at the age of 19. He even recalled getting booed by Phillies fans while playing for the minor leagues in Harrisburg.
When it comes to his feelings about his old team winning the World Series the season after he left, Harper said that him being jealous of the Nats was a huge misconception. “I couldn’t be more happy for those guys because those are the guys I grinded with for the first seven years of my career.” Despite being on their division rival, he says he’s happy to be on the Phillies and for Washington’s success.
The eye opening statement of the interview is that Harper claimed that when the Nationals signed pitcher Patrick Corbin last January, he knew his old team was going to win the World Series. In seven seasons in Washington, Harper helped the Nats win four NL East titles but they never got out of the first round of the playoffs. Three of those four seasons ended with a brutal Game 5 loss at home. He remarked that they were always a pitcher away from reaching their full potential and Corbin was the piece they added to strengthen a rotation led by Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. And everything Harper envisioned was what exactly happened with one of the most incredible playoff runs of all-time.
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In regards to discussing his free agency and signing with the Phillies, Harper admitted that he did want to stay in D.C. for his entire career. They offered him $90 million in dropback money, something he didn’t want. He also revealed they had a handshake deal with the Houston Astros for a midseason trade, something Harper actually would’ve supported considering the success the Yankees had in trading Aroldis Chapman for Gleyber Torres, and resigning him the following offseason. Ultimately the Nationals stuck with the deferred money plan and it didn’t fit his business plan.
He did consider signing with the Chicago Cubs and has remarkable knowledge about Chicago sports. When initially meeting with the Phillies he hilariously admitted being skeptical of signing knowing the Nats had been beating them his entire career. He loved being booed by the crowd in Citizens Bank Park and noticed how those boos turned to cheers heading into free agency in 2018. Another reveal occurred that the Dodgers jumped in at the last minute with a four year offer but with a lot of money and opt outs.
Harper was tired about hearing where he’s been going through free agency since his early days as a National. He was tired of opt-outs and just wanted to commit to a team long term. Philadelphia appealed to him because it was a blue-collar city of hardworking people just as his parents did. Harper’s first year with the Phillies felt like a clean slate and he felt like himself for the first time in his career.
Another fun moment of the interview was when Harper discussed his beef and fight with Hunter Strickland. He actually respected the fact that he hit him on the butt three years after homering off him twice in the playoffs. Lastly the podcast hosts ask what baseball event would Bryce wanna go back and witness live, and Harper responded with seeing Josh Gibson hitting a baseball. A badass answer.
Overall this interview should encourage Phillies fans about the future with Bryce, as he’s signed under contract for the next twelve seasons. By the end of that deal hopefully Harper can win more rings than his old ballclub. And hopefully there’s still baseball in 2020.