PHILADELPHIA -- Bryce Harper didn’t climb to the top rope of the home-plate-shaped ring at Citizens Bank Park on Monday night.
He didn’t jump from it, either.
But for a moment, it looked like he might. Harper knows how to put on a show, and when he made his way into the ring with seven other Home Run Derby contestants, he stepped onto the bottom rope and leaned toward the fans behind home plate to fire up a sellout crowd.
A while later, he tried to put on the show everybody came to see.
Harper hit eight home runs in the first round, failing to qualify for the second round. His Phillies teammate Kyle Schwarber hit 10 home runs to edge him. The Red Sox's Willson Contreras (13), the Cardinals' Jordan Walker (13) and the Rays' Junior Caminero (12) also advanced.
Harper had been a reluctant participant of sorts in this year’s Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park. He won the event at Nationals Park in 2018, when he still played for the Nationals. His father, Ron Harper, threw to him that night. He won. He vowed to never participate in another Derby. But with Harper having a fantastic season and making his ninth NL All-Star team, he said yes.
“I said I'd never do it again, and you know this is the only reason I'm doing it -- because it's in our ballpark in front of our fans and, you know, the city and stuff like that,” Harper said on Monday afternoon. “I think obviously if I don't win it, I want Schwarber to win it, and you know vice versa. You know he'd say the same thing about me.”
Harper’s longest home run traveled a projected 482 feet, leaving his bat at 110 mph.