9781422269824

Return to Washington

In 2019, Harper and the Phillies took an early season road trip to play the Washington Nationals, the team that drafted Harper. Predictably, Harper was serenaded by both boos and applause from the Nationals faithful when he stepped to the plate in the first inning. When he struck out, the crowd exploded. The same happened when he struck out again in the third. Harper hit a run-scoring double in the fifth, which was met largely by a chorus of cheers from the crowd. When he knocked in another run in the sixth with a single, the cheers were just as loud. One could be forgiven for thinking the game was in Philly by that point. In the top of the eighth, Harper put the cherry on top of his return performance. He stepped to the plate with the

Phillies already leading 6-2 and with a runner on first with one out. He worked the count to 2-2 and then crushed the next pitch into the second deck in right field to make it 8-2. Harper rounded the bases as the fans left in the stands cheered.

Harper’s initial return to Washington did not lack drama.

14

Bryce Harper