Bryce Harper is ‘a Phillie for life’ and fans are loving it

Your newborn child will be a teenager by the time Bryce Harper's contract runs out.

Bryce Harper batting at Citizens Bank Park on Sept. 11.Read more

Published Feb. 28, 2019, 4:30 p.m. ET

Our long national nightmare is over.

Bryce Harper has agreed to join the Phillies. If you just had a baby, your child will be a teenager by the time he’s done: The superstar free agent agreed to a 13-year, $330 million deal.

Naturally, fans were overjoyed — if not a little tired of waiting around for the right fielder to make a decision. But it seems like the wait might be worth it, since they’ll be watching Harper at Citizens Bank Park for a long time. Harper will be 40 when his contract runs out.

And Harper has a no-trade clause and didn’t want to include any opt-outs in the deal.

A number of Eagles took to Twitter to share their excitement over the news.

Jake Arrieta, soon-to-be Harper’s teammate, had an ... interesting ... reaction to learning the news.

Tobias Harris, who recently moved to Philly himself, is thinking about inviting Harper to become the third member of his close friendship with Boban Marjanovic.

Rhys Hoskins, for his part, was freaking out a little.

Even former Phillie Shane Victorino was quick to welcome Harper to the city ... and ask for a little bit of that cash.

Fans, always with a chip on their shoulder, were ready to poke fun at recent reports that Harper was more likely to sign with a team such as the Los Angeles Dodgers or the San Francisco Giants.

All those claims that Harper didn’t want to play in Philly?

But mostly, Phillies fans were celebrating that the team landed one of the biggest free agents of all time.

And he’s getting paid a lot to do it.

What $330 Million Is Worth

Here’s a look at how much money Bryce Harper could make over the next 13 seasons, on average, based on his performance so far in his major-league career:

Per pitch seen

Per plate appearance

Per game

$11,132

$44,906

$191,685

Roughly equal to the annual salary of a minimum-wage worker in Pennsylvania who works four days a week ($12,064)

More than the median household income in Philadelphia ($39,759)

More than annual salary of a newly elected member of Congress ($174,000)

SOURCES: baseball-reference.com; U.S. Census Bureau; Congressional Research Service

JOHN DUCHNESKIE / Staff Artist

What $330 Million Is Worth

Here’s a look at how much money Bryce Harper could make over the next

13 seasons, on average, based on his performance so far in his major-league career:

Per pitch seen

$11,132

Roughly equal to the annual salary of a minimum-wage worker in Pennsylvania who works four days a week ($12,064)

Per plate appearance

$44,906

More than the median household income in Philadelphia ($39,759)

Per game

$191,685

More than annual salary of a newly elected member of Congress ($174,000)

SOURCES: baseball-reference.com; U.S. Census Bureau; Congressional Research Service

JOHN DUCHNESKIE / Staff Artist

Are you maybe a fan of the Mets, or the Nationals or the Braves? (Or maybe the Marlins ... although we’re not sure if they have many fans at all.)

You’re probably feeling a little like this today.

Speaking of the Mets, by the time Harper’s contract with the Phillies runs out, they’ll still be paying Bobby Bonilla. For three more years!

It was previously announced that Bryce Harper would be the cover star for the latest edition of the “MLB The Show” video game. Here’s your first look at it.

So, what’s next? Well, maybe the Phillies could make a run at a different free agent in 2020 ... Ready to come home, Mike Trout?

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