All Eyes On Bryce Harper As Guardians Take Series Opener Over Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies superstar, Bryce Harper played first base for the first time in his career against the Cleveland Guardians.

Bryce Harper jogged onto the dirt at Progressive Field and stopped at first base. An unusual position for a veteran who's played right field for over 10 years. However, there's a reason he got the start there. 

The idea of Harper playing first goes all the way back to Spring Training. Rhys Hoskins, who was a key piece of Philadelphia's 2022 World Series run, tore his ACL when trying to field a ground ball in late March. This left the Phillies searching for someone who could fill the position.

Bryce received Tommy John surgery back in November of 2022 which meant his return to the outfield this season which be a challenge, if not impossible. This provided a great opportunity for one of the game's best players to learn a new position in order to help his team win.

The Phillies came to Cleveland to open up a three-game series on Friday and Harper made his debut at first in game one.

Of course, Steven Kwan hit a ground ball to Harper after the second pitch of the game. He collected it and flipped it to pitcher Ranger Suarez to retire Cleveland's leadoff runner.

Myles Straw then ripped one the opposite way with an exit velo of 94.3 and an xBA of .490. Harper demonstrated a great reaction time and caught the ball out of mid-air. 

His best play of them all came in the third inning. Amed Rosario hit a pop-up that was fading out of play. Harper perfectly tracked it, reach over into the dugout, and caught it. This was an impressive play for any first baseman, let alone one making their first career start there.

BRYCE HARPER, FIRST BASEMAN! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/K9BRBB9HiO

— MLB (@MLB) July 22, 2023

First base may appear to be an easy position to fans. All you have to do is stand their and catch the ball, right? There's actually much more than that and Terry Francona talked about this prior to the game. 

He said, "I really think the days of moving the big slow guy, move him to first, like back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s ... There's too much that goes into first base play that not only affects yourself but everybody else."

Harper now proving that he can play somewhere on the diamond outside of the outfield will give the Phillies the opportunity to put together much more dangerous lineups. 

This will be something that the Guardians have to keep in mind for the rest of the series. 

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Photo Credit © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports