Bryce Harper on Phillies' NLWCS Mentality: "Everybody is Starting with Zeros"

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper starts in his first playoff game since 2017 on Friday.

For the first time since 2017, Bryce Harper is back in the Major League Baseball postseason. 

It is also the first time that the 2021 NL MVP made the playoffs as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, who broke their nearly 11-year postseason drought on Monday by clinching the final NL Wild Card spot.

Prior to Game 1 of the NL Wild Card series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, Harper said of his and team's current mentality that "each day is a new day."

Bryce Harper speaks with the media prior to Game 1 / © Kade Kistner

With the regular season wrapped up, it's as if every team and every player in baseball gets to start from scratch again. Playing in the postseason is an entirely different ballgame (no pun intended) than in the 162-game season.

Harper missed all of July and most of August with a broken thumb. He finished the regular season batting .286 alongside a .877 OPS, with 18 home runs and 65 RBI.

But as far as Harper is concerned, none of that matters now with his club in the postseason, and a chance to bring back playoff baseball to Philadelphia.

"We’re at the time of the year where everybody is starting with zeros," Harper said.

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