Inside The Phillies

Phillies Breakout Star Shares Unbelievable Story About Bryce Harper

This story is almost hard to believe if two Philadelphia Phillies players hadn't been part of it.

Brad Wakai

Jun 14, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) warms up prior to a first inning at-bat against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Jun 14, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) warms up prior to a first inning at-bat against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

When the Philadelphia Phillies signed megastar Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract on March 2, 2019, they knew exactly what they were getting.

Not only did they just land one of the best players in the game, but this also changed the course of their franchise's direction for the foreseeable future, something they desperately needed after so many seasons of futility.

Harper has been the lightning rod they expected, winning the NL MVP award in 2021 and being the catalyst of their World Series run in 2022, and the NLCS appearance last year.

Phillies fans know how good he is, and for a long time, everyone in the baseball world knew how good he was before he even stepped foot onto a professional baseball field.

After all, he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated at just 16 years old.

Harper is in the midst of another ridiculous hot stretch that has even the best players in the world marveling at what he does. For the month, he is slashing an incredible .384/.465/.733 with seven homers, 16 extra-base hits, and 15 RBI that has put him in the running for his third MVP award.

His stretch would impress anyone in baseball.

Well, maybe almost anyone.

Because Harper's new teammate, and breakout Phillies star, David Dahl shared a story about the superstar from their youth baseball days that is almost impossible to believe.

Yes, that's right.

Dahl said that Harper went 12-for-12 with 11 home runs in a youth game when he was 12 years old.

Something absurd like that seems to have followed Harper around no matter what level of baseball he's playing in, and during his interview on MLB Network, Dahl talked about how special it is to be part of this team.

"It's definitely a special group. It starts at the top and all the way down. It's just a great group of people. They treat you very well, they treat you like family ...," he said.

After being called up on June 3, the former first round pick of the 2010 MLB draft has been a great addition for Philadelphia, slashing .250/.277/.500 with three home runs, five extra-base hits, and eight RBI over 15 games in a platoon role.

Dahl's OPS+ is 19 points above the league average and he's brought a defensive element to the outfield as well with a bWAR of 0.3.

With Johan Rojas continuing to get work at the Triple-A level, it seems like the veteran is going to be part of this special group for a while longer.

Published
Brad Wakai

BRAD WAKAI

Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently is the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. He is also a contributor at FanSided, writing about the Philadelphia 76ers for The Sixers Sense. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai

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