Phillies: Bryce Harper puts heavy emphasis on family in introductory press conference
Bryce Harper had one of the best Phillies press conferences in recent memory.
Phillies fans haven’t heard much from Bryce Harper with him spending the first seven years of his career in Washington D.C. His introductory press conference on the top the first base dugout in Clearwater was truly an introduction to his new city, one he hopes to grow a family in.
Harper and his wife Kayla met in high school and have been married for two years. Bryce talked about wanting to start and grow a family in Philadelphia, saying he wants to be able to say his kids are from Philadelphia.
A big piece in the negotiations came from ownership, but not the first person you think of. Leigh Middleton, the wife of the club’s primary owner John, joined the Phillies contingent on trips to Las Vegas to meet with the Harper family.
Bryce constantly mentioned Leigh, a person the fanbase hasn’t heard much about or from, in his press conference. We heard rumblings of her affect on the Harper’s by promoting their philanthropic pursuits, but her voice clearly made a difference in Harper choosing the Phillies, although $330 million helps sway a man as well.
Everyone who watched the press conference came away impressed with Harper as a person after some hesitation regarding his personality. Harper said he decided to wear number three for several reasons. The first was to honor the late Roy Halladay, saying Doc should be the last person to wear it.
"I wore No. 34. But I thought Roy Halladay should be the last to wear it."
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 2, 2019
Bryce Harper has the utmost respect for the Hall of Famer. pic.twitter.com/Q9pTXqALFU
Halladay wasn’t the last player in Philadelphia to wear 34 after his retirement in 2014. His friend A.J. Burnett, Aaron Harang, Brett Oberholtzer, A.J. Ellis, and Andrew Knapp each wore it since then, but since Doc’s tragic passing no player has worn it.
Harper is known for admiring Mickey Mantle, who wore number seven for the Yankees, but Harper didn’t want to take the number away from Maikel Franco.
In addition to all of that Harper ripped overpriced concessions when asked about the differences between salaries nowadays and back in the 80’s when Pete Rose made $800,000 as the highest-paid player in baseball.
Bryce Harper's news conference: He hinted at recruiting Mike Trout, ripped overpriced beers, name dropped Ben Simmons and Carson Wentz, said he wanted to go down Broad Street on a "frickin' boat", praised Roy Halladay, and dropped some Flyers knowledge. A fun 30 minutes.
— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) March 2, 2019
What else could you want?
Next. Bryce Harper already wants Mike Trout. dark
Aside from slipping up and saying he wanted to bring a championship to D.C. and the always awkward donning of the jersey, everything in Harper’s introductory press conference was fantastic.
The fan base is incredibly excited, and tickets are selling at a record rate. It’s just the beginning of a long journey that hopefully brings multiple championships to Philadelphia as Harper becomes a fixture in the Phillies family.