Image via Getty/Mark Brown
Philadelphia’s sports fans have always had a bit of a bad reputation. From infamous snowball throwing incidents that happened decades ago to boo’ing underperforming players on their own teams relentlessly until they inevitably get traded away, the city’s fanbase is synonymous with negativity for many people. It’s led to the city being an undesirable place to call home for a lot of pro athletes. Bryce Harper isn’t one of them.
“I absolutely love playing in Philly. Everybody thinks I’m crazy for that. Everybody thinks I’m telling a lie because I say that I love playing in Philly cause everybody’s like, ‘oh, there’s no way,’ but I just respect the fact that they care so much,” Harper tells Complex over Zoom. “They’ll let you know on a Tuesday night if you’re playing terrible and they’ll let you know on a Friday night that you’re playing great.”
Entering his fourth season with the Philadelphia Phillies, Harper has dealt with his fair share of boos thus far. But he hopes to give them more to cheer about and lead the Phillies to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. With the addition of players like Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos this offseason, it may be the best chance the franchise has had in quite some time. The Phillies fanbase is already excited by the potential from their new lineup this season. And Harper agrees.
“Seeing what [the Phillies] did from 2006 to 2011, they were able to fill that ballpark and were able to have excitement around the whole stadium and the city each time the Phillies got back into town. We want to have that back,” Harper tells Complex. “We don’t just want to have one great year. We want to be able to control the narrative and have a couple years where we’re one of the best teams in baseball.”
Through his latest partnership with Fanatics, the reigning NL MVP is going to be able to provide Phillies fans with some off-the-field memories too. The multi-year deal makes Fanatics the exclusive distributor of Harper memorabilia and collectibles including game-used equipment and signed photos capturing some of his career highlights. “I’ve been waiting a long time to announce an exclusive partner in the autographs and collectibles space, and I’m so excited about teaming up with Fanatics as we get ready to start the season,” Harper said in an official press release.
Harper isn’t the only superstar in Philly right now though. Two of the players that play across the street at Wells Fargo Center for the Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid and James Harden, are also giving the city’s faithful a lot to be excited about. With Embiid an MVP candidate in his own right, Harper likes the Sixers’ chances at finally bringing home the Larry O’Brien trophy that has eluded the franchise since 1983.
“It’s pretty cool to see the city rally around the Sixers, just like they rally around the Eagles or the Phillies,” says Harper. “Just to be able to see the city kinda thriving in the sports world right now, I think the Sixers have a great shot to go get that title of their own.”
Ahead of his latest partnership with Fanatics, we recently got a chance to hop on the phone with the reigning NL MVP to talk about his expectations for the Phillies this season, the Sixers NBA title hopes, how baseball can attract new fans, and more. Check out the conversation below.
(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
You have this new deal with Fanatics. How did that come about and what excites you about this partnership?
I think at the beginning, when you start playing baseball and stuff like that when you’re younger, you always talk about being on a baseball card or a cereal box. You talk about memorabilia stuff and how cool it is when you’re younger seeing people’s autographs, trying to get all the good players cards, and baseballs, and jerseys, and things like that. So, I think it all kind of started from there. When you get into baseball, you wanna talk about deals and who you wanna set yourself up with and who you wanna be with. I’ve been thinking about doing it for a long time and it was clear cut knowing who I wanted to be with. To be able to partner with Fanatics, the leader in all that they do, in memorabilia, I was thrilled to be able to join. It’s just a great opportunity.
Philly sports is in a really good place right now. Fans have a lot to be excited about and you’re one of the main reasons for that. What is that feeling like, to be one of those guys helping define this era of Philly sports how guys like Mike Schmidt or Chase Utley have kind of done in the past with the Phillies?
I feel like I have a long ways to go to be on that pedestal. To be able to be in the same name as those guys, just from this conversation with you or anybody else, I’m definitely humbled by that. But I think I have a long ways to go to be like a Schmidt or an Utley. They were able to win world championships, and to have great seasons, and to love a fan base like they do. And the fan base loved them back.
I absolutely love playing in Philly. Everybody thinks I’m crazy for that. Everybody thinks I’m telling a lie because I say that I love playing in Philly cause everybody’s like, ‘oh, there’s no way,’ but I just respect the fact that they care so much. They’ll let you know on a Tuesday night if you’re playing terrible and they’ll let you know on a Friday night that you’re playing great. I respect that. I love that. They just have that mentality of wanting their guys to respect them and to be able to respect the game that they play and give it their all every single night. I think to be able to go out there and do that, it’s been kind of easy for me to just go out there and be who I am. Philadelphia has opened their arms to me. I’m very grateful for that, for them to do that for me and my family. It’s been a great transition to be there.
Sticking to Philly sports for a second, one of the city’s other big names right now is Joel Embiid of the Sixers. He could be bringing his own MVP trophy to the city soon. Do you think he deserves those honors? What are your thoughts on Embiid and the Sixers?
Yeah, I mean he’s averaging 35 to 40 a night (Note: Joel Embiid is currently averaging 29.8 points per game), rebounding, playing hard, and being a leader when he’s on the court. They’re winning games. To be able to add that piece of James Harden to kind of take that pressure off of Joel, I don’t feel like he feels that, but to be able to kinda have another big name in the city with him on that team is gonna be huge for him. That lineup is pretty well rounded now, having a superstar like James come in and control the ball and kind of just take control of that team and say, ‘Hey, this is how you do it.’ It’s pretty cool to see the city rally around the Sixers, just like they rally around the Eagles or the Phillies.
The Sixers are gonna be making a playoff run. You know the fans get crazy. Can the fans expect Bryce Harper to be at center court ringing the bell before a home game in the playoffs?
I hope so. That’s, that’s the plan, right? To be able to go and support those guys. If we’re able to do that, if the schedule matches up, I would love to go and watch them play and support them. I love supporting every single guy in that city. The Flyers, Sixers, Eagles. The Union had a great year this year as well. Just to be able to see the city kinda thriving in the sports world right now, I think the Sixers have a great shot to go get that title of their own. I’m excited to see that.
You’re entering your fourth season with the Phillies. The team hasn’t been able to reach the playoffs yet despite some of the bright spots along the way. This year, it kind of feels like the team is really built to break that streak and make its own run. But has that been sort of tough to deal with, coming up short thus far during your tenure here, especially since you’re playing at such a high level and a big part of you coming here was wanting to bring that title to the city and add that to your resume?
Yeah. I mean, I think every single year you have that mentality and that plan as a team to go and try to get deep into the playoffs, not just build a team to get into the playoffs but to build a team to win in the playoffs, to win a world championship. As a team, I think right now you look at our lineup and being able to add [Kyle] Schwarber, [Nick] Castellanos, [Jeurys] Familia, and have the rotation that we do, we like it. We love where we’re at, but also we know we have to put that work in to keep it going. You can’t just say, ‘Hey, our lineup is great. This is what we’re gonna do every single night. And that’s how it’s gonna be.’ No, you have to be able to go out there and perform each night. I think the city deserves that. I think our ownership deserves that. Mr. Middleton went out and got the players that we really needed to get to solidify our lineup and to strengthen our lineup. He deserves us to go out there and give it our all, go deep into the playoffs, and do what we need to do to win ball games.
Schwarber and Castellanos are two really big signings for the Phillies this offseason. You sort of just touched on it there, but I’m just curious, what do you think you guys can accomplish this season?
We’re bringing two players that have won in their careers, that have gone deep into the playoffs, that have done things that not many guys are able to do. Starting with Schwarber, he was able to end the [World Series] drought in Chicago. He’s had a great career thus far, and for him to be able to perform in the playoffs like he has is really special to see. And then Casty, I think he’s gonna fit in really, really well with us. I think he’s gonna fit in really well into the city, the way he plays, the way he goes about it. He’s very hard-nosed. He knows what he wants. He knows how good he can be. His plan and approach at the plate is second to none. So, being able to add anybody like that, that caliber of players in Schwarber and Casty, is always fun to be able to do. They’re just gonna make us that much better. They’re gonna bring a passion. I think they’re gonna bring a respect factor too. You’re gonna see these two guys walking into our clubhouse and we’re gonna respect them. We’re looking forward to that. We can’t wait to be able to add that to our lineup each day and ride to the top with them.
You have a lot of fans on social media after those signings already talking about all the homers that the Phillies are gonna hit this season. Are you embracing that identity for the team, a lineup that’s just absolutely crushing baseballs all season?
You have to work for that, right? You can’t just go out there and think you’re gonna do something. The excitement’s great. We love having excitement around our team. Being able to fill Citizens Bank Park with fans, it’s an incredible thing. Seeing what they did from 2006 to 2011, they were able to fill that ballpark and were able to have excitement around the whole stadium and the city each time that the Phillies got back into town. We want to have that back. We don’t just want to have one great year. We want to be able to control the narrative and have a couple years where we’re one of the best teams in baseball.
So, I’m excited everybody’s talking about the homers. I mean, just like Charlie Manuel would say, right? It’s hittin’ season. Everybody talking about that is always fun. But we gotta put the work in. We have to be able to stay with our approach and understand what we need to do as a team, as individuals as well. Hopefully, at the end of the day, we can hit some homers at the Bank and excite some people.
Opening Day is right around the corner. Heading into the season, there was potential for a lockout. There was even some talks of you going over to Japan if it really came down to it. Is it a relief that everything got settled and that you can kind of just focus on the game now?
Yeah, absolutely. Being able to get back in the swing of things, we’re not gonna miss any games, which is great. Another 162-game season is great for baseball after that COVID year of 60 [games], then it got kinda wishy washy last year. Thinking about it again this year, ‘Hey, we might not play 162.’ I don’t think that would’ve been fair to the fans. I don’t think that would’ve been fair to baseball or the players. So, to be able to know that we’re gonna play 162, we’re gonna grind as a team for six months and have an opportunity to chase the title, I think it’s great. I think baseball is going in the right direction. There’s a lot of great young players that are thriving in this game, that are doing great in this game. I’m looking forward to seeing what those guys can do this year as well. We got a couple of those young guys that I’m excited about. I’m ready to see what we can do, if we can take that next step into the playoffs and win a world championship.
You do the wild cleats for certain games. You show a lot of emotion on the field. The team has the home run hat. You definitely have fun out there. There’s a lot of exciting players around the league right now. But baseball being “boring” is something that a lot of detractors of the game will still bring up. How do you think the game can make itself more fun for that casual fan and bring people back to it that may have turned away in recent years?
I mean, I’d say just watch the game. They’ll see that it’s fun. There’s great players in this game. That’s the fun part about it. You’re not able to see Mike Trout play every single night. It’s something that you wanna see. As an average baseball fan, four walks aren’t fun, right? But I mean, you’re seeing the careers of guys of like Mike Trout, Jacob deGrom, Ronald Acuña Jr.. You’re talking about all these guys. If you watch the game, it’s fun to watch. If you’re gonna go to a ball game, you know you’re gonna sit there for three and a half, four hours. That’s just how it’s gonna be. If you don’t like that, maybe baseball’s not for you. I don’t know. There’s a lot of fun parts of this game that I think people just might not see.
I think one thing that we could do better as Major League Baseball is really trying to grow the game from the ground up, make it more accessible to kids in any spots of the country or any spots of the world. I mean, really make this game accessible to all of them, no matter what, no matter their situation or where they are. To really grow this game and make it thrive, you’re gonna have to start it from there and build it all the way up. I think it really hurts that baseball’s not in the Olympics. I think that kills it. Being able to spread the game on a world stage is something I think we need to do. I don’t think that’ll ever happen cause of the money in the game, but I think that would be really crucial for the game to be able to grow it the best we can.
Any ideas for what the walkup song is gonna be yet?
My number one song is always “Flower” by Moby. That’s been my first walkout every year. I have like three more that I usually do. Those are up in the air right now. We’ll see what I’m feeling in the next two weeks or so, what’s kind of hitting me. So stay tuned.
Lastly, this is admittedly a bit of a generic homer question here, but where are you taking Schwarber and Castellanos for cheesesteaks? How are you introducing them to Philly?
[Laughs] If I was gonna take them for cheesesteaks or pizza, I’d probably go to Angelo’s. I like Angelo’s a lot. That’s one of my favorite places.