By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
According to a March 2019 Yahoo Sports story, a lot of MLB players considered Bryce Harper overrated. Overrate this.
Harper — who signed a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies in March 2019 — is in the World Series. They will play the Houston Astros in the Fall Classic.
The Las Vegas native cemented his legacy on Sunday in the City of Brotherly Love. He hit the game-winning two-run home run against the San Diego Padres.
He is just the sixth player in MLB postseason history to hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later in a clinching game.
“It felt like I was seeing [the ball] better as the at-bat got longer and longer,” Harper said in the dugout after his home run. “[Padres reliever Robert Suarez] beat me with the heater when we were in San Diego, so I was just trying to stay on that pitch. Once I took the changeup [at 1-2], I knew he was just going to come with his heater. It’s his best pitch. So I was just trying to take the best swing that I could and I was able to do damage with it.”
When the Phillies needed their marquee player to come up big, he has done that this postseason. He has hit five home runs through the first three series.
Before this postseason — which ended an 11-year playoff drought for the team — Harper had five combined home runs in the extra season. They all came with the Washington Nationals.
On Saturday night, Harper set the Phillies record for the most extra-base hits in a playoff run.
With the Phillies playing in the World Series, Harper will have potentially seven more games to put his heroics on display for those who once doubted him. He’s ready to shine in his first Fall Classic.
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