{"id":548862,"date":"2026-03-20T11:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T11:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/548862\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T11:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T11:15:09","slug":"phillies-bryce-harper-sends-4-word-message-on-mets-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/548862\/","title":{"rendered":"Phillies\u2019 Bryce Harper Sends 4-Word Message On Mets Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

Facing some acute criticism about his decline at the plate, Philadelphia Phillies franchise slugger Bryce Harper offered an emphatic response on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

In his most consequential plate appearance since Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski openly questioned whether he could return to his elite status, Harper hit a game-tying home run in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n

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Ultimately, Harper\u2019s Team USA lost that game to Team Venezuela. But the home run was a reminder that Harper can still perform as one of the best hitters in baseball in the biggest moments.<\/p>\n

MORE FROM FORBESDodgers\u2019 2-Time Champion Sends 3-Word Message On Joining NL Rival After CutBy Peter Chawaga<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Philadelphia Phillies\u2019 Bryce Harper Response To Criticism In Big Way<\/p>\n

And some of his off-field World Baseball Classic moments became highlights as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom his pregame address to Team USA to his game-tying two-run homer in the eighth inning, his postgame congratulations to Team Venezuela to a private moment he shared with U.S. manager Mark DeRosa, Harper on Tuesday was a portrait of class and grace,\u201d The Athletic\u2019s Ken Rosenthal wrote<\/a>. \u201cHis home run against Venezuela had the look of a warning shot. But his pregame talk to Team USA and postgame recognition of Team Venezuela were also vintage Harper. As much as any baseball superstar, he understands his place in the game and responsibility to the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Between Harper\u2019s pregame speech, on-field performance and postgame gesture, the World Baseball Classic championship was a good reminder for Phillies fans about all of the positives the face of the franchise can still bring.<\/p>\n

But Harper also utilized the tournament to send some praise to a rising star who pitches for his team\u2019s biggest division rival.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s a special talent,\u201d Harper said of New York Mets\u2019 starter Nolan McLean, who was his teammate on Team USA, per MB.com\u2019s Thomas Harrigan<\/a>. \u201cHe’s going to be a special talent for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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MORE FROM FORBESYankees\u2019 Former All-Star Makes Contract Decision With Demotion LoomingBy Peter Chawaga<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Philadelphia Phillies Star Bryce Harper Makes Surprising Admission About New York Mets\u2019 Nolan McLean<\/p>\n

Harper seemed to put aside his Phillies\u2019 rivalry with McClean during the tournament, as he normally wouldn\u2019t praise a pitcher or a member of the rival team. But speaking in the midst of the international tournament, Harper was apparently willing to make an exception.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t give pitchers much credit, obviously, as a hitter, but I think he was the best arm I saw last year,\u201d Harper added, per Harrigan.<\/p>\n

Harper took six at-bats against McLean last year after the pitcher saw his promotion to the Mets\u2019 big-league club in August. Harper logged one hit with three strikeouts in those at-bats, for a .167 batting average that seemed to back up the Phillies star\u2019s claim that he was his toughest opponent last season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Facing some acute criticism about his decline at the plate, Philadelphia Phillies franchise slugger Bryce Harper offered an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[1515,49,48,487,462,475,45391,481,82,58784,212151,148306],"class_list":["post-548862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-bryce-harper","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-nolan-mclean","tag-philadelphia-phillies","tag-sports","tag-team-usa","tag-team-venezuela","tag-world-baseball-classic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}