Harper ‘flipped switch’ to win Derby at home
WASHINGTON — From a dusty ball field in Las Vegas with no one else around to a finely manicured mound in a major league stadium bursting with more than 43,000 screaming fans, baseball has always been a father-son game for Bryce Harper.
In perhaps his most memorable single moment of his young career, Harper was there taking swings against his father at the All-Star Home Run Derby.
On his final one of the night, Harper sent a ball rocketing toward the right-field seats and he raised his hands skyward in triumph.
“I think this is just another stepping stone of what we’ve done together throughout my whole life,” Harper said of that final blast, in front of his home fans at Nationals Park, that propelled him to the Derby title over the Chicago Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber.
With his father Ron on the mound pitching to him, Harper showed a flair for the dramatic that felt like something straight out of a backyard game.
And while everyone knows this win came in a frivolous exhibition, it was a remarkable moment in what could be his final year as a National. It has come with struggles, teamwide and individually.
And so this Derby win was part emotional rescue for a slugger who has hidden behind stoicism as he navigates his final season before free agency.
“I don’t think you can overstate that,” reliever Sean Doolittle said of the pressures Harper has been facing. “I don’t know if there was a monkey on his back. But this was definitely on his calendar. He definitely came to win.”
And the relief was palpable afterward. Harper’s voice cracked on numerous occasions in his postgame press conference,
Ron.
“I’m very serious on the field. I’m a very serious player. I enjoy the game,” he said. “I want to win every single game I play. I want to help this team win on a daily basis.
“But off the field, that’s the kid in me you saw tonight.”
Schwarber set the bar high in the finals by hitting 18 homers and setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
“As soon as I got done with that round, I knew he had it,” Schwarber said. “I knew he had the home crowd behind him, he’s a very prolific power hitter with a great swing. For him to come in and do that, and it starts to get close to the wire and he starts rackin’ em off one at a time, you kind of just accept your fate there.”
However, he went a full 30 seconds before hitting his first home run – and was only halfway seated alongside to Schwarber’s total when he called his final timeout with 80 seconds remaining.
After getting some encouragement – and some toweling off – from Doolittle, Harper homered on eight consecutive swings in the final minute. The last one, No. 18, pulled him even with Schwarber as the clock ran out.
Given an extra 30 seconds for having multiple homers topping the 440-foot mark, Harper needed only two swings to break the tie and claim the title.
Harper dedicated the win to not only his family in attendance, but also to stadium workers and team employees.
“I’ve been here since I was 17 years old. I’ve grown in front of these fans,” he said. “Everyone who has a job here. That’s the security guard out front. The guy that works the parking lot.
“Those are the relationships you love.”