The Bryce Harper buzz is in the air at Spectrum Field. Philadelphia Phillies fans flocked to the team’s spring training home for Tuesday’s game against the Saint Louis Cardinals.
While Harper will not play until Saturday, but fans still caught a glimpse of him in the dugout. The ink is barely dry on the 26-year-old’s record-setting 13-year, $330 million contract. So, fans easily recalled the exciting moment they found out Harper would be calling the City of Brotherly Love home.
“I was just listening to the radio at the time just waiting on it like everybody else,” said Casey Dunn, a Clearwater resident and self-proclaimed die-hard Phillies fan. “I’m so excited to have him here.”
Part of the excitement, fans say, stems from the shock they were in when the signing was announced. Reports earlier in the week suggested Harper was not sold on playing in Philadelphia and might be leaning toward signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Francisco Giants. The six-time All-Star and 2015 National League MVP ultimately felt differently.
Philadelphia native Nick Tulli said, “I was thrilled, I didn’t think there was any shot they’d sign him.”
What would Tulli do with $330 million? “Sign Mike Trout,” he said. “One hundred percent.”
