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WASHINGTON – We should have expected most of these things. The nonsense, the challenge of Bryce Harper, which took him a while during the last visit to Nationals Park, the small marketing critics of his former body.
When he returned for the first time on April 2, Harper visited many of the same layers. He was booed. His negative moment came against Max Scherzer when he hit. His positive moment came later in the game when he dominated Jeremy Hellickson in the eighth inning. Harper's return to the canoe ignited the crowd of handshakes, gyrations, and field celebrations, which became a visceral representation of post-season fireworks around the Phillies.
On Thursday, he left the national park 0-4, his team limping. If he had played in Washington all season, he would not have heard the critics or the vitriol he quoted Wednesday night, when his wife, Kayla, rejected comments they thought (and seemed) inappropriate . He would also be the third best player on the team by WAR, followed by Juan Soto and Victor Robles. And Sunday, he would not pack for Las Vegas, but rather for the host city of the Wild Card Game or to rest at home during the season.
The sharpest change since Harper declined the initial $ 300-million initial supply of domestic goods nearly a year ago was marked by an economic slowdown. Harper's hair, cleats and celebrations have not spent 81 days on South Capitol Street. Howie Kendrick took control of his old locker, dissolving the collars of previously installed reporters nearby, especially if a New York team was in town. Things were quieter.
Harper has always asked a singular question: what is the next step? For years, the request was about his free agency waiting. This year, he went north with him to Philadelphia, but also left behind his old team. The Nationals kicked off the season with two youngsters in the field outside, alongside Adam Eaton, who was replacing the right field for Harper. A left-handed gulf existed in the range. Washington had to find a way to operate differently offensively. Organizational marketers had to find an alternative to using Harper as a point of anchor.
The team is easily adapted. He came into play Thursday third in points scored and second in OPS in the National League. They finished third in both categories last season. Washington has hit more circuits this season without Harper. He would have improved all those categories if he stayed and played on straight ground instead of Adam Eaton. However, his departure did not lead to a crash in his first season.
Marketing and participation was another matter. The attendance at the national park is down sharply this season for various reasons. Thursday, the annual decline is 282,900 people. Among the supposed arguments of such a decline in the city that hosts the game of stars, there is still a decline in attendance the following year. This is not true. In the last seven years, four host cities lost customers the following year, three more in the stands. Of the three winning teams over this seven-year period, the second largest drop was 84,433, nearly 200,000 fewer than the Nationals this year. In addition, none of these teams participated in the playoffs.
Again, to be clear: the decline in attendance is multiple. However, one factor that is difficult to define but nevertheless clear is Harper's departure, which allows him to immediately acquire market value and visibility. Determining how much it has fueled the drop in attendance is a challenge.
At the very least, the atmosphere without him has changed. He brought the headlines and 34 circuits to Philadelphia. He will finish with the fourth best war of his career. And, his stops in Washington usually went off without big punches – until Wednesday.
Harper's pre-game press conference on April 2 had no jabs or squeaks. He often smiled under a black "Positive Vibes" hat. Harper mentioned his hope of staying in Washington. His past comments have so often attracted his lawyers and advocates in their hallways, but not at that time, even sitting in the same place that he was after perhaps his greatest passion for the city, the Home. Run Derby 2017.
When he spoke on Tuesday, after seeing his former team celebrate a melee and eliminate his new one, and after launching another home win for Hunter Strickland, Harper remained friendly and stable.
"I have no resentment towards them," Harper said. "It's a great team. It's an excellent organization. That's why they are where they are right now. It's a great group of guys over there, they play the game the right way. They play hard and they have a pitching staff to go with it and training too, so they're going to be hard to beat. It's a good team and that's why they are what they are. "
Wednesday changed tone. The late ruckus in the right field pushed Harper into a spot where he responded on the field and took the opportunity to make fun of the crowd.
"They spoke very well about me and things like that," Harper said. "I mean, I get it wherever I go. It's not new, but the last round is not fair. It is not fair.
Is it right here?
"I feel like that everywhere I go," said Harper. "I just want to play, that's what I've always been, of course, there were times when I did not run out of baseballs and things like that, I relaxed and things That's part of it, but every night I come here, my team deserves it, my city, Philadelphia, the merit, as well as the great fan base we have there. "
He chose not to elaborate by following the verbal subtext. His wife, Kayla, then tweeted fans denigrating their son, born August 22, using the word "classless" correctly to describe the situation.
Other more subtle strikes were inflicted on him during the series. An introductory intro video mentioned "Toils in the agony of defeat" and showed Harper walking from waist to toe. On Thursday, the legendary ode to Public Enemy, "Do not Believe the Hype," was played as a result of one of his offensive strikes.
The end of Thursday for Harper's first year against the Nationals was a microcosm for the final series. Stephen Strasburg hit it three times on three different types of terrain. A change of Fernando Rodney led to a double play ending in heat. Harper's four trips to the batter's box, all accompanied by boos, produced five outs and a deep joy in the stands.
His team was swept through five games, leaving a game under .500. If the Phillies do not win their last round against the Marlins, Harper will finish the season on a losing team for the first time in his major league career. Meanwhile, the Nationals decide who will start in the playoffs. One moves the needle and the other advances, which produces a marked difference in the first season.
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