Over the next two weeks leading up to Phillies Opening Day on March 28, we’re taking a daily look at the biggest questions and storylines surrounding the team in 2024.
Some baseball players duck attention as if it’s a nasty 98 mile an hour heater, up and in and heading straight for their coconut like a heat-seeking missile. Some, in the immediate wake of a big hit, limit their acknowledgment of the cheers to a brief, perfunctory curtain call, seemingly embarrassed by being thrust into the spotlight.And then there’s Bryce Harper.
Somewhere along the way, the Phillies first baseman picked up a nickname: The Showman. It fits. If all the world’s a stage, he’ll audition for the leading role. It’s already a part of franchise lore that, in his first game at Citizens Bank Park in 2019 after signing a 13-year, $330 million free agent contract, he rocked custom-made, lime-green Phanatic cleats. And that was just the beginning.
When he hit the 300th home run of his career last season he not only bounced out of the dugout to greet the standing ovation from the home crowd, he posed and preened and kissed the Phillies logo on his jersey. When he homered on his 31st birthday he pantomimed blowing out candles on a cake as he crossed the plate.
When he gets a key hit his jubilation is unchecked. Gesturing to the dugout, raising his arms in triumph, screaming his delight toward the heavens.
