'Definitely grateful': Harper on All-Star selection, Home Run Derby

KANSAS CITY -- Bryce Harper has heard the word “elite” too many times to remember the past several months.

Is he? Isn’t he?

How about now? Harper learned on Wednesday that he made his ninth NL All-Star team. Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred left Harper a voicemail during Wednesday night’s game against the Pirates at Citizens Bank Park. He asked Harper to call him to talk about the Midsummer Classic on July 14 in Philadelphia. Harper called back -- he already had Manfred’s number saved in his phone -- and Manfred told him that he chose him as his “Legend Pick” to make the team.

“Definitely grateful for that,” Harper said Sunday morning at Kauffman Stadium.

It was a no-brainer, really. Harper is not only one of baseball’s biggest stars, but he entered Sunday batting .274 with 20 home runs, 57 RBIs and a .903 OPS (T-11th in MLB) this season. Harper might not have been a finalist for the fan vote, or finished among the top two NL first basemen in the player vote, but he has been one of baseball’s best players this year.

He has been super … excellent … fantastic … wonderful … tremendous …

He has been elite. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski wondered last fall about Harper’s ability to return to elite status following a relatively down year. The word has followed Harper everywhere.

Harper was asked just recently, “Do you think you’re elite now?”

“I don’t care,” Harper said Sunday. “That’s up to you guys to decide that. Every year I come in, I’ve got an opportunity to be great at what I do. The numbers show right now. They speak for themselves. But again, I know they can be better. I know I can be better.

“I'm going to enjoy it, but I think I can be better than what I'm doing right now.”

But he also said he can be better at enjoying where he’s at.

“I need to work on enjoying being good,” he said. “I still just don't think I'm that right now. I'm not where I want to be. You know? Does that make sense? Every year, I always say I just want to be better and better and better. Wherever the numbers are right now, they don't really matter to me. I just want to keep going and keep getting better, keep the numbers going, keep winning games and help the team win.”

Nine All-Star appearances is an other-worldly accomplishment. Good players don’t make nine All-Star teams. Great ones do.

“The first thing that comes to mind is -- not enough,” Harper said. “Obviously, super grateful for it. Been in the game for a long time. Nine’s a big number, but hopefully I’ll have more out there the next couple years. But yeah, I mean, just not enough.”

Harper will join teammates Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, Cristopher Sánchez and Jhoan Duran at the All-Star Game. Harper and Schwarber might compete in the Home Run Derby on July 13, too.

Harper said he still isn’t sure if he will do it. Harper’s father, Ron, threw to him at Nationals Park in 2018, when he beat Schwarber in the final. Harper said his dad hasn’t thrown in a few years, and Harper said he needs to trust his pitcher if he’s going to compete.

He’s fielded offers to throw to him, including a few calls from former teammates.

“I can trust a couple of them, but it's just hard for me to tell you the truth,” Harper said. “Not being able to do it with somebody that I'm super comfortable with, it's a hard thing to think about. They may throw to you one time before you take the field to hit in a Home Run Derby.

“I'm super comfortable with my dad throwing to me for my whole life. That’s a big thing. You can't just pick somebody random to go out there. … I'm not going to do something if I'm going to have a half-mentality towards it, because I'm worried about the pitcher, or I'm worried about what's going to happen, or anything else. If I'm going to do it, I want to be full bore and very confident in winning it. I'm not going to do it unless I'm going to try to win it. You know what I'm saying? I'm not going out there just to have fun, like I want to win the thing.”