Bryce Harper has been the face of the Philadelphia Phillies for some time now. After signing with the Phillies in the 2019 offseason, Harper has been the team's star player. He's won NL MVP and led Philadelphia to multiple playoff trips during his stint. Based on how his career's going, it does seem like Harper will end his career with the Phillies.
Recently, though, Harper revealed that him going to Philadelphia nearly didn't happen. During his free agency, the Phillies apparently had one major competitor for the star hitter's services: the San Francisco Giants. In a recent interview, Harper said that if not for ex-manager Bruce Bochy's retirement, he would have likely went to San Francisco.
“They’re probably thinking, man, he could have been here with the Giants, but he’s not,” Harper said on the “Pat McAfee Show”. “It came down to the Phillies and the Giants. San Diego, a couple of other teams were in there, but at the end of the day, it really came down to Philly and San Francisco. It was close. The thing that killed me was Bochy was retiring.”
Bochy was the legendary manager of the San Francisco Giants' excellence during the late 2000s and the 2010s. Hired in 2007, Bochy had 12 successful seasons with San Francisco, which included three World Championship wins. It makes sense that playing for an esteemed manager like Bochy would be such a massive hook for Harper, and why the former's retirement made the latter choose the Phillies.
Bochy did end up unretiring in 2023, reentering the coaching cycle to join the Texas Rangers. By that time, Harper was fully ingrained with the Phillies, winning an MVP during that time. There doesn't seem to be any signs of Harper leaving anytime soon, despite recent controversy, which is a relief for Philadelphia fans.
Last season, Harper had a down season by his standards. He was still solid on the plate, though his .261/.357/.487 batting splits and 127 OPS+ were a touch lower than his previous marks. The Phillies ran into the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Divisional Round and unfortunately lost 3-1.
Harper will be playing in this year's World Baseball Classic for Team USA.
