MLB WORLD SERIES: PHILLIES VS ASTROS

November 1, 2022

Bryce Harper

Citizens Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Postgame 3 Press Conference

Philadelphia Phillies - 7, Houston Astros - 0

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with questions for Bryce Harper.

Q. History of postseason, the great players rise to the occasion, Reggie, Barry Bonds, etcetera. How do you feel about where you're placing yourself in the legacy of all these great hitters?

BRYCE HARPER: I'm just so focused on winning. I'm not focused on anything else besides that. Just having the opportunity to come in here and grateful for the opportunity to be here. Just grateful to be here with this team and this organization. I'm not really worried about anything else.

Q. Just as a follow-up, how tough was it coming back from the injury, getting your footing again at the plate, and then getting to where you are now?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah, try to flush it as best as possible knowing that the season is done, right? The season was done. Everybody goes back to zero and all you do is worry about winning as a team and as an individual as well. So just trying to have the best at-bats I can. Grateful for the opportunity to even be here and playing in this great game and just doing the things I can to help my team win each night.

Q. The last swing you had in Citizens Bank Park helped win the NLCS and the next swing you had started this barrage. How much of a momentum factor do you think that that swing was in that moment?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah, I mean, just walking into the ballpark, just being back home, I think is such a momentum swing for us just for the pure fact of our fan base. We all come in here and we're ready to go and we're excited to get on the field because we know they're going to show up and there's going to be 46,0000 people here screaming and yelling and going crazy.

This whole city is so excited to be in this moment and we're just thrilled to be able to play in front of them and have this opportunity and just be here with them.

Q. Were you sitting on the pitch that you got? Did you get what you expected?

BRYCE HARPER: No, I just, of course he throws that slider and that curveball heavily, but at the same time, I didn't want to get beat by anything else. So I just tried to see the best pitch I could and took a good swing on it.

Q. In terms of your daily routine, have you changed anything from the regular season to now and are you really locked in with just from the time getting up to the ballpark with doing the same things?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah, I think me and Kevin have just stayed the course. That's all you can do. You don't really worry about the regular season when the postseason, when it turns to October. Everybody starts at zero and you get going and stay with the same routine, same mindset. You don't want to change too much because it's your routine. You want to come in every single day ready to go. No matter 4-4 or 0-4, as long as your team's winning and you're doing the best you can, that's all you can ask for.

Q. It looked like before Bohm's first at-bat you called him over and said something to him. What did you say, if you can share it? Did you pick up on something that you wanted to share? Because obviously it turned out fairly well for him.

BRYCE HARPER: No. I think anytime you have information you want to be able to give that to your teammates at any point. So anytime I can help my teammates. Throughout the whole season we've done that and, yeah.

Q. You guys tied a World Series record with five homers in a game today. This is a lineup built on power. What do you make of just how much juice you guys have top to bottom?

BRYCE HARPER: It's a lot of fun. We all talk about the top of our lineup, right? But also the bottom of our lineup, our rookies, and we call them our day care, right? They showed up for us all year long. It's been fun to watch. It's another young guy and another young guy and another young guy. Marshy had a great day today. Bryce I thought took some really good swings and then the top end of our lineup as well.

So each guy in our lineup we have all the faith in the world in them to go out there and perform and we just got to keep doing that the next two days.

Q. What did you think of the outing from Ranger tonight and just overall from the pitching staff against a pretty good offense?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah, I'm never shocked when Ranger goes out there and does that. It's just who he is and that's just, he's a no heartbeat guy. He goes out there and they announce his name. He probably had no idea that they were even announcing him or people were going crazy because that's just how he is. So much fun to watch.

His demeanor out there, he just pitches, and he goes out there and pitches to his strengths and his ability, and it's always fun to be able to see him get a ground ball back to him or a line drive because he's just so at ease about everything that he does and it's just so much fun to watch.

Q. Do you guys feed off that swagger when he's out on the mound and acting like things are totally under control?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah, I think as a team, from Rob Thomson all the way down to anybody, we just try to come in here and play the best baseball we can and never have that panic mentality or anything like that.

So I think if we can all come in just with that daily mindset of, hey, we're going to go out there and play the best baseball we can and have that mindset, I don't think anybody's going to beat us.

Q. What is it about this place, the city, the fans, the organization that really for you has allowed you to come into your own and kind of take this next step in your career?

BRYCE HARPER: All of it, right? I mean, them giving me the opportunity to be here, of course, you know, Mr. Middleton giving me the opportunity, all the way to our fan base for opening their arms to me and my family, giving me that shot, and my teammates as well. Same thing.

So we're all a family here, man. We all try to come in here and play the best baseball we can knowing that we have a whole city behind us and that we have a whole organization behind us as well. That's all you can ask for as a player, knowing that the people behind you have your back, if that's your manager, if that's your GM or president, or your owner as well.

And the fan base, I mean, it's just so much fun. They showed up tonight knowing that we needed 'em, and they continue to do that. It's a really good Houston team over there. They have been here, they have been in all situations before and to be able to come in here and win the first game here was huge for us.