Phillies Teammates Were Surprised By Harper's 'Iconic' Home Run Celebration

It sounds like even Bryce Harper's teammates were surprised that the Philadelphia Phillies superstar pulled out his soccer-style celebration on Saturday.

June 8, 2024; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Philadelphia Phillies player Bryce Harper celebrates after hitting a home run against the New York Mets during a London Series baseball game at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park / Matthew Childs/Reuters via USA TODAY

Philadelphia Phillies fans everywhere were able to rejoice when their team was back in action on Saturday.

In a season filled with 162 games, it felt like an eternity since the Phillies were last in action after they got Thursday and Friday off as they traveled to London for their slate against heated rivals the New York Mets.

With this team being so incredibly fun to watch, everyone was chomping at the bit to see what they could accomplish overseas in the first game played for Philadelphia's franchise outside of North America.

They didn't disappoint.

The Phillies stomped the Mets 7-2, recovering from an early one-run deficit in the first inning after Ranger Suarez gave up some rare damage.

It all changed in the fourth inning when Philadelphia put up six runs and never looked back.

Who started that monster inning was none other than their superstar Bryce Harper when he blasted a  towering solo shot to right field that got his team on the board.

What has gone viral is what came after he was heading back to the dugout, though.

Instead of trotting down the stairs and high-fiving his teammates like usual, Harper did a soccer-style slide that fans in England normally see from their favorite players on the pitch.

According to Phillies players, they seemingly had no clue this was coming.

"How long have you been planning that, buddy?" Nick Castellanos asked him in the dugout.

Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that Harper came up with it on Saturday in the training room, telling the training staff he'd break out a soccer slide if he homered.

Like always seems to be the norm for everything with this superstar, he rose to the occasion.

Suarez called the slide "iconic" and it's certain to resonate with the London fans heading into Game 2 of this matchup on Sunday.

When watching the clip of Harper sliding, the first person he high-fived after getting up to enter the dugout was manager Rob Thomson. It's safe to say the reaction would have been a lot different if their star's fears about the worst-case scenario from doing that celebration was realized.

Seidman said Harper was worried his knees might get caught on the turf, the same feeling his manager shared when he saw his high-priced leader start going into that slide.

But all's well that ends well, and the Phillies have something they will remember coming out of this overseas trip.

"It was fun, being able to put people on their feet and put joy in people. That's what it's all about. As a team, we did a great job of that. We all had a really good time out there," Harper said after the game.

They have a chance to end this trip on a high note if they can beat New York in the second and final game of this international matchup.

Taijuan Walker will be on the mound searching for a good performance that has evaded him this season since he's come back off the injured list.