Undeniably, when you see the Washington Nationals celebrating their first trip to the World Series, you think about Bryce Harper a little bit. Indeed, I received several in-jest text messages to the tone of ‘what do you think Harper is doing right now?’. While I responded with humorous texts back, I found myself wondering.
Now, Jayson Stark sheds a little light onto the situation in The Athletic MLB. Moreover, he describes a Harper that is happy for his former team, including a sizable quote from the $330-million dollar man.
The Athletic just is the best sports writing going today. Jayson Stark addresses the elephant in the room with the Elephant himself. And does a fair job dispelling the myth that the Nats are in the World Series because he left. https://t.co/7UAkeBjAaG
— David B. Larter (@DavidLarter) October 18, 2019
Furthermore, here’s what Harper has to say about his former team reaching a zenith he does not yet know.
“I think it’s about being able to be the person that I am and not saying to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m not a National.’ Or, ‘Oh my gosh, those guys are doing what they’re doing. I can’t believe it. I’m so jealous,'” Harper told The Athletic for a story published Friday. “No. I’m so happy for them. You know how hard it is to get into the postseason and win games. For them to be able to put it together this year the way they have, it’s an amazing thing.”
Notably, Harper is saying all the right things here. Perhaps he means them, no one will really ever know. Still, it’s important to note that an athlete like Harper being paid atop his profession has a competitive nature to him. Certainly, he would love to be the one playing in the final series of the year against the Houston Astros or New York Yankees.
It sounds like he’s living with his decision.
“I made my decision, and that was my decision,” Harper said. “And it was the final decision that I made. You know, jealousy isn’t good. For me, it’s about having the gratitude to go out and do what I do each day and not having an attitude toward anybody else.”
Finally, as much as Harper is talking off being jealous; one must wonder if natural emotion doesn’t harbor a small seed of it within. Harper is approaching his age-27 season and is yet to play in a World Series. At some point, if he doesn’t get the Phillies into the Fall Classic; he may second guess his decision to leave Washington if he already hasn’t.
