Phillies slugger Bryce Harper joins 300 home run club
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Bryce Harper has etched his name into baseball history. The Phillies' slugger joined the 300 home run club Wednesday with his 15th homer of the season.
Harper hit his 300th career homer off Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Moore. The 30-year-old is just the 158th player in baseball history to reach 300 homers.
Harper said he gave the kid who caught the home run ball a bat and a pair of shoes he was wearing Wednesday.
BRYCE. HARPER.#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/zy0uCGTa6Q
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 30, 2023
Harper's 300th career home run – a 381-foot blast to right-center field in the bottom of the eighth inning – sent Phillies fans into a frenzy. He capped the milestone off with a curtain call. His homer gave the Phillies an 8-7 lead, but they weren't able to hold on in a 10-8 loss.
"I really wanted to do it at home in front of this fanbase and this great city, and I'm happy I did it at home," Harper said. "Bummed out we weren't able to close it out right now and sweep, but I thought we had a great week at home, won the games we had to and get ready for this road trip."
Harper also added he's hoping to be in Philly longer than the 13-year, $330 million contract he signed in 2019.
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"I love being a Phillie, plain and simple. It's something I dreamed about," Harper said. "This fanbase. This city, I love them. I really do, plain and simple. I feel like I'm part of this family and they're part of our family as well. There's just nothing like it. I can go on and on, everybody thinks I pander a lot, but it's real. It's so real, it's from the bottom of my heart and I'm just thankful to put this jersey on every single day."
Harper is the 12th active player to reach the mark, joining Miguel Cabrera, Nelson Cruz, Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout, Joey Votto, Evan Longoria, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Freddie Freeman, Manny Machado and J.D. Martinez.
He also became the 28th player in baseball history to reach 300 or more home runs by his age 30 season. Others in this club include legends such as Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, Ken Griffey Jr., Eddie Mathews, Frank Robinson, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez.
A-Rod was the youngest player -- at 27 years, 249 days old -- to reach 300. Edgar Martinez is the oldest, at 41 years, 130 days old. Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner did it in the fewest number of games (1,087).
When asked about what stood out about his 300th homer, Harper said "Hopefully, 300 more." That would put Harper in the same class of legendary sluggers.
The 600 home run club includes Barry Bonds, Aaron, Ruth, Pujols, Rodriguez, Mays, Griffey Jr., Jim Thome and Sammy Sosa.
"Growing up, you don't really think about the one or the two or the three or anything like that," Harper said. "You think about the bigger numbers. I'm very happy with where I'm at right now. It's just a stepping stone to the next couple."
Harper's power wasn't there when he initially returned from Tommy John surgery, but it came back in August. The Phillies finished 17-10 in August, and Harper, a two-time NL MVP, finished the month with 10 homers, 24 RBIs, nine doubles, one triple and a 1.060 OPS.
Harper's 300th dinger was the 59th the Phillies hit in August, which is the most ever in a calendar month in franchise history.
The Phillies have Thursday off and hit the road for games against the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres before returning home vs. NL East rivals Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves.
"We just got to keep this going," Harper said. "He got a pretty dang good schedule heading into September, a lot of good teams we're going to play, we just got to keep this thing rolling. We all love playing in September and you guys know we love playing in October so we just have to get there."