‘This is my house’: Bryce Harper is owning October for the Phillies
One win away from the World Series, it’s happening. Harper is feeling what he came to Philadelphia for.
Bryce Harper pumped his fist Saturday night as the rally towels waved and the ballpark rocked, the crowd coming unglued as it has all month after the Phillies finally took the lead. He hit a go-ahead double, rising to the moment yet again to finish a comeback that started with the resilient Phils trailing by four runs before they took their first swing.
This postseason — a wild October ride that will continue to the World Series with a win over San Diego on Sunday in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series — has belonged to Harper. And so does the stadium.
“This is my [expletive] house,” Harper shouted from second base, trying his best to match the roar in the fifth inning of a 10-6 win that came from another raucous sold-out crowd.
» READ MORE: ‘We believe in him’: From booed to cheered, Rhys Hoskins ignites the Phillies to take a 3-1 lead in the NLCS
The Phillies signed Harper more than three years ago for moments like this: the superstar standing on second base after delivering a crucial hit that allowed them to smell the World Series while Citizens Bank Park sounded the way it used to. The house belongs this month to Harper the way it belonged to Chase, Jimmy, and Ryan.
“It’s incredible to see him really perk up and do this on the biggest stage in this game,” Rhys Hoskins said. “I’m sure he has more in store for us because that’s the type of ballplayer he is.”
Harper drove in two runs and raised his postseason OPS to 1.311, the highest in franchise history among all players with at least 15 postseason plate appearances. His two doubles gave him 10 extra-base hits, tying Ryan Howard (2009) and Jayson Werth (2008) for the most by a Phillies player in the playoffs.
Harper, who has reached base in each of the team’s 10 postseason games, tied that mark despite having 20 fewer plate appearances than both Howard and Werth.
“It’s really fun to watch,” Kyle Schwarber said. “That’s what everyone strives to be right there. Being that locked in and putting in those quality at-bats every single time. He’s been phenomenal this whole postseason and we have to keep going.”
The Phillies built their lineup to win games like Saturday, when they were asked to outhit their pitching. They were able to do that and Harper helped set the tone.
» READ MORE: Phillies-Padres Game 4: A home clincher with Zack Wheeler on the mound is how you draw it up
“I think it’s just a guy who knows that he doesn’t have to try to hit a homer or hit a double,” Alec Bohm said. “He’s not trying to do too much. I think he’s just a guy who’s locked in right now and he’s not trying to homer every time he goes up there.
“I think that’s something when you hear the crowd, the energy, and everything that it’s pretty easy to go up there and try to swing out of your shoes and do too much. I’m not in his head, but I know that it looks like he’s just trying to touch the ball.”
Hoskins looked at a picture of the team’s 2008 World Series celebration the morning after Harper joined the Phillies. He was tired of hearing about those days. Hoskins wanted to live it for himself. The Phillies, on a sleepy March morning in 2019, could dream about October. That’s the confidence Harper brought.
It took longer than expected as the Phils faded in each of Harper’s first three seasons. But Hoskins — who homered twice — and the Phils are finally here.
“It feels like we’re living it, yeah,” Hoskins said. “The red towels, it’s deafeningly loud, right? Just the whole scene. And as soon as you step on the field, really in batting practice, you can just kind of feel the electricity building. I need some more. I need some more of it.”
The Nationals won the World Series the year after Harper left. The Dodgers — who thought they could land Harper before John Middleton sealed the deal with a Las Vegas dinner — won the World Series a year later. Last year, the division rival Braves won it all.
Harper stayed at home, watched those teams win the World Series on TV, and hoped to finally play again in October. Now it’s happening. Harper is feeling what he came to Philadelphia for.
“I think we’re all just excited for the opportunity,” Harper said. “I know I keep saying kind of the same thing, but we’re all just so grateful for the opportunity to be here.
“I don’t think any of us are in shock. But to stand here and say that we’re grateful and understand that this opportunity is huge. We’re one of the last teams playing right now, and it’s really cool to see that. When you look at the scoreboard and you see two more teams or you look at the scoreboard and nobody’s playing that day and it’s just you, you’re grateful for the opportunity to be here.”
» READ MORE: Most ‘undervalued’ move at the trade deadline? Kyle Schwarber says it’s Brandon Marsh
The Phillies need to win just one of their next three games to return to the World Series. The crowd on Sunday afternoon will be wild, the towels will be waving and the ace pitcher will be on the mound. Everything feels aligned for the Phillies to finish the day by winning the pennant at home and soaking their clubhouse for the second time in a week.
This is what everyone imagined October to be like when the Phillies signed Harper. His house will be rocking.
“I said it in my first spring training that it’s going to take us a couple years to get there, right,” Harper said. “It’s going to take us a couple years to build this thing. It’s going to take a couple years to understand what our identity is and who we are and what we can do.
“I believe our team is built for October, I really do. … This is what we play for. This is what you work for each offseason and going into spring training, this is what you want to do.”