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WASHINGTON – Three-and-a-half hours before the first pitch, Bryce Harper was the only one in uniform for what could be his last home game at Nationals Park.
"It's really crazy to come home today and know that this will be my last game at Nats Park in my white jersey," said Harper, whose Washington Nationals host the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.
"It's definitely something you do not know how you're going to react, and you do not know what it's going to look like, whether it's after the game, or even before." I knew I wanted to get there here and put the unit right now and just cherish that moment, whether it's going to be the last time or not. "
Unlike four of the previous six seasons since his debut at Harper, including the last two, there will be no post-season games for nationals, at home or away. Expected to repeat as champions of the National League East and fight for a World Series title, Washington was officially eliminated from the playoff competition over the weekend.
"It's not something you want to go through," Harper said of his club's disappointing campaign. "You have the hope and aspiration to be one of the best baseball teams in the spring, we did what we could to get there, but we did not do enough. Young talents and doing a great job, so it's really fun to watch, it's just something that happens, it's part of baseball, sometimes you will win, and sometimes you will lose. "
As losses accumulated during the first half of the season and despite many injuries to key players, most of the blame was attributed to Harper and his offensive struggles. At the All-Star break, the 25-year-old outfielder had 23 home runs and 54 RBIs, but was barely 2,214 with 102 strikeouts.
Following a dramatic win at Home Run Derby in front of his hometown supporters in BC, Harper began to reverse the situation. Came on Wednesday, he hit .298 since the break and posted a .985 OPS, more than 150 points higher than his mark in the first half. Monday against Miami, he collected his 100th RBI of the season, the first time in his career that he reached the triple figure.
"I'm happy with the plan," the All-Star said six times. "I never got worried, I never fell or something like that, I broke some helmets, I broke some bats, but that's part of it." I was trying to do my best, never give up, have a good manager out there who saw things happen every day and who really trusted us all and we just tried to do it every day for him and for this team. "
Regardless of which team Harper signs in free agency, he is supposed to challenge The record of Giancarlo Stanton for the biggest contract in the history of the MLB, a $ 325 million contract awarded by the Marlins after the 2014 season. Meanwhile, the former MVP plans to impregnate it from the atmosphere in what could be his swan song to Nats Park.
"You never know what's going to happen," said Harper, "so I'm going to take it today and just enjoy it." Enjoy running right – I think that's where I play – but enjoy missing I like to put the W on my chest every day and from the beginning, it's like I was a 35 year old man, but I only have that 25 years.
"So it's the first time I'm going through something like that, of course, I've never done it in my life, maybe playing my last game somewhere, something like that, and it really makes sense to me, is my city and, being able to come here – of course, I'm hiring for the Golden Knights and I'm hiring for Duke and I take the Cowboys like that – but I am a Washington National, day, I love this city, love to come here, love to play here, and that 's all I want to say. be happy and enter this clubhouse and walk on this ground every day … fans all over baseball. "
After their series final against the Marlins on Wednesday, Harper and the Nationals travel to Colorado for a three-game end-of-season series with the Rockies.
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