Born at the crack of a Rhys Hoskins three-run homer, Harper Reese Wright is the Phillies’ newest fan

Fishtown resident Harper Reese Wright was ushered into the world with the crack of a bat and more than 45,500 Phillies fans erupting into a cacophony of deafening cheers at Citizens Bank Park on Oct. 14. At least, this is how her father tells the story. The birth announcement Robert Wright put up online featured a photo of the baby in a Bryce Harper onesie.

According to Harper Reese’s father, her birth story goes something like this. It was game three of the Phillies facing the Braves in the National League Division Series. He and his wife Danielle were “locked in” for the safe delivery of their first-born, playing the sounds of waterfalls at the hospital.

Robert is a self-described four-out-of-four Philly sports person. Not only does he watch the local teams, he grew up an athlete. His voice lights up when he talks about his favorite sports moments — he was at Roy Halladay’s 2010 postseason no-hitter game and Sixers star Joel Embiid was standing behind him during the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade.

Naturally, only the birth of his daughter could keep him from October baseball. With the game recording at home, he and his wife — a fellow fan — focused on the labor.

It wasn’t until after the birth, as the Wrights tried to whittle down their list of baby names, that their nurse told them to check the time of their daughter’s birth, which coincided with Rhys Hoskins’ three run-homer.

Hoskins’ play broke a slump that landed him boos at the first home playoff game in Philly in more than decade. He spiked his bat to an accompaniment of cheers so loud, fans at the game would report getting noise warnings from their smart watches.

Harper would follow with a two-run homer and the Phillies would defeat the Braves 9-1.

After meeting their baby and weighing their options for about five hours, the Wrights decided naming their baby Harper Reese was the only option, even though the baseball connection was a happy coincidence and not the only inspiration for the name.

Reese is Robert’s grandfather’s name, so it was always in the mix. Meanwhile, Harper is the name of a random little girl Wright encountered at the airport over the summer. She was befriending complete strangers at the terminal.

“I was like, man, that’s what I want my daughter to be like, one of those people who is social and doesn’t care who you are, where you’re from — that’s the type of kid that I want,” said Wright.

For now, 16-day-old Harper Reese is one of the more muted Philly sports fans. Her father said she’s napping a lot and not much of a crier, giving her mom some time to rest ahead of Monday’s game.

“We will absolutely be watching,” said Robert, who said he and Danielle have been making time to catch the games live. “There’s no ifs, ands, or butts about that. [Harper Reese will] have her Harper uniform on and we will be moderately yelling at the TV. The trick or treaters? I’m sorry, but like you’re gonna have to get there before eight.”