Some athletes are simply built for the moment. Bryce Harper may be the epitome of those athletes when it comes to baseball players. The Philadelphia Phillies superstar put together a jaw-dropping performance in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves, willing the Phillies to the brink of their second consecutive trip to the NLCS after a 10-2 win.
Harper slugged two home runs in back-to-back plate appearances – a three-run bomb in the third inning followed by a lead-off shot to dead center in the fifth – to spark the Phillies and shift all the momentum in the series Philadelphia's way.
Harper said his Phillies teammates asked him “What are you going to do?” after comments made by Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia poking fun at the two-time MVP got out of Atlanta's clubhouse after Game 2. Those same teammates continue to be amazed by Harper's seemingly predictable legendary playoff moments.
“It’s Bryce Harper,” Bryson Stott said, via Todd Zolecki. “Any time he goes up there, it’s must-watch TV.”
“I think we were all just on the edge of our seats,” Matt Strahm said. “Like, it’s going to happen. It was almost like we already manifested it and knew what it was going to be. He just answered the call. That’s what great players do.”
“He’s one of the best in the world for a reason,” Kyle Schwarber said.
Harper doing exactly what he came to do
When the Phillies inked Bryce Harper to the largest contract in MLB history at the time in 2019 – 13 years, $330 million – they expected greatness from the former No. 1 overall pick. It's plausible they didn’t expect this sort of level of awe-inspiring play that he's delivered in the last two postseasons.
Make no mistake about it, the Phillies are a well-oiled machine with loads of talent on both sides of the ball. But teams typically thrive when their best player is hitting their peak and that's exactly what Philadelphia has done with Harper leading the way.
Last postseason, Harper had several jump-out-of-your-seat moments, none bigger than his pennant-clinching home run in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the NLCS. When all was said and done, Harper had a slash line of .349/.414/.746 with six home runs, seven doubles and 13 RBIs in 17 games.
Through five games this postseason, Harper has a 1.352 OPS with three homers, five RBIs and seven runs scored. The Phillies are 4-1 and a win away from eliminating the mighty Braves in the NLDS for the second year in a row.
While all of Harper's regular season accolades with the Phillies are special in their own right, a performance like he had on Wednesday is what he came to Philadelphia to do. Playoff baseball is a different breed, and Bryce Harper is in a class of his own when it comes to creating the spotlight.
There may be no more exciting player to watch in the MLB playoffs than the Phillies first baseman. Enjoy it while you can.
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