NL WILD CARD SERIES: PHILLIES VS CARDINALS

October 7, 2022

Bryce Harper

Busch Stadium

Philadelphia Phillies

Pregame Press Conference

Q. Bryce, I just asked Rob the same thing. It seemed like early in the week in Houston, it was a celebration, almost a sense of relief, but now that you guys are here in St. Louis do you get a sense that you and your teammates have a we're not satisfied attitude?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah. I think being in Houston must win games in Houston, having the opportunity to go in there and get it done as quick as possible, and we were able to do that the first night and enjoy that and enjoy that as an organization for the first time in 11 years, so being able to do that with our teammates and coaches and owner and ownership, it was a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun that night, and something we enjoyed, but also at the same time, it was something that was step one into a bigger picture and a bigger opportunity. And we have that ahead of us tonight, and we're really excited about it.

Q. Bryce, you got to the playoffs a lot with Washington. This is your first time doing it with the Phillies. What's it been like for you the last three Octobers? Did you watch the playoff games? Did it lock you in even -- did you not watch? What were those experiences like on the sidelines for this?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah. When the Nationals got back in '19, I sat there and rooted for them, guys that I played with each and every day. They were like family. So rooted for them in '19, and then '20, it was kind of a weird year, right? I mean COVID year, the bubble, things like that. So didn't really watch too much. And then last year, watched a lot of it. So I thought the Braves had an unbelievable postseason. It was fun to watch. So it's great to be back. I'm really excited to be back, especially with the Phillies and this organization. It's so good for the fans, so good for our team, and for the city of Philadelphia as well, and I'm just excited to be here and have the opportunity to play.

Q. Bryce, I'm wondering how would you evaluate where you are right now with your timing at the plate and your at-bats in the last week or so. How do you feel going into the playoffs here?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah. It's been a grind, right, to get through this last probably month and a half or so or since I've been back. So I've kind of just said each day is a new day, try and go in there and have the best at-bats I can and have the opportunity to be in the lineup every single day and try to take advantage of what I do in the batter's box and not miss pitches over the plate like we've talked about numerous times. Be patient, be as patient as possible, and when I'm being patient and helping my team win, we have a really good opportunity to do that.

So right now, I'm just trying to do everything I can to help. You know, we're at the time of the year that everybody is at zeros. You're just trying to get some runs over the plate and do everything you can to get that lead for the pitchers that we do have with Wheels and Nola and Ranger and Noah the way they've been throwing. So if we can get a few runs on the board, I think it'll take care of it.

Q. And what's it been like to watch shortstop Bryson Stott come into his own? What's it been like to watch him this year?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah. It was really cool the other night being able to kind of celebrate with one of your best friends. It was a really cool opportunity for kind of both of us to sit back and look at it and think, wow, we're actually doing this together. So it's -- I'm really proud of him. I'm really happy for him. He's got a lot of work ahead, and he's got the baseball mentality. He's got the baseball mindset. He wants to win, and he has a lot of fun doing it. He stuck with his plan all year. He's been able to come in and play shortstop every single day and do his job and do it to the best of his ability, and I think that's a lot of our young guys.

A lot of our young guys have been able to do that this year. And without our farm system, I don't know if we'd be in the spot that we are because it's the guys that came up and stepped up for us. I don't know if that's Bailey Falter or Matt Vierling or Bohmer as well, those two homers. We can look back at those two homers in Milwaukee. If that doesn't happen, this might be a different situation for us. What a cool opportunity we have to get here in some of their first years and some of them are actually coming home, too. So it's pretty cool to come in to Busch Stadium, a team they grew up rooting for, and now they kind of want to turn it around and send them home.

Q. Bryce, what has Kyle Schwarber brought to the clubhouse this year and what ways do you feel like his presence helped?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah. He's a wing player. I think when Dombrowski sat out in the off season, he was trying to bring somebody in that has been there, and that's been done in the postseason numerous times, and that was won in the postseason and won in their career. So he was able to go out and get Schwarber, and he's brought in that leadership quality that he has, and that fun quality as well. He's never too serious. He's always having fun and enjoying the game, and understanding that it's all about winning and that's it.

So he's had some really big hits for us this year. He's had some really big moments for us, and I know the fanbase really loves him. That's great. He's a blue-collar kid, and he works hard, and it's just a lot of fun to kind of see him come into his own. He's got a great family, new baby. I mean, it's awesome. I love seeing on the field stuff but off the field stuff as well. He's a great dad and husband, and it's cool to see.

Q. Just following on what you were just talking about with the farm system, the last game, last season you talked a lot about how you need to have guys come up from within to really kind of supplement what you've got. You know that doesn't happen overnight. You don't build a farm system overnight. How confident were you that you had those pieces and have some of these kids who have come up surprised you with how much they've contributed?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah, it's all about the opportunity, right? I mean, being able to have the opportunity, I wasn't sure. You know, just like anybody else, I don't think anybody was really sure of what we had down there because nobody really talked about it. Dombrowski came in and kind of revamped it as well, brought in Preston and Brian Barber and bringing the guys in that we really need to be successful down there, and they're still doing that right now.

I think there's two guys that could actually help us right now. But that's okay. I mean I'm not saying they should be here. But they're really, really good, and I'm excited about that. I'm excited to have guys in the minor leagues that are developing well, and developing the right way, and I think Dombrowski does such a great job of evaluating talent and understanding talent and understanding when guys are ready and when they're not and pushing guys to the best they can because he's been around a lot of good players and a lot of good farm systems as well.

So I'm really excited to see kind of where those guys go, what they're going to do and how that kind of fills into our team next year. Of course, we're worried about right now and trying to get as far as we can in the postseason and win a World Series, but I think we have a great opportunity to have a lot of those guys come up next year and be successful again. And when you look at a lot of good teams that are successful, you know, their farm systems are really good. And I think we're just stepping in the right direction with Preston and Brian and with the help of, you know, Dave and Sam as well.

Q. You being a fan of baseball history, have you had a chance to reflect what it's like to play against Albert Pujols in his last postseason of his career?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah. I mean, what an incredible feat he was able to get to this year. He had an incredible second half. 700 homers. I saw the sign out there as I walked out, and I was like, man that's a lot of homers. That's incredible. You grew up. You watched Albert. You watched Yadi. Wainwright as well. These are guys you grew up watching and now they're kind of on their way out, and it's a little sad for the game, right? I mean, you have three of, you know, the best St. Louis Cardinals of all time. I mean, on their way out, and I mean I think the game is definitely going to miss them. I think the game is going to have a little bit of a hole for a little bit with Yadi leaving and Albert as well. I have so much respect and gratitude for those guys, because without them, some of us wouldn't be here right now because they paved the way for us.

And I think just being able to see what they've been able to do this year as a team and as an organization, they've done a great job, and I hope Albert kind of slows down right now in this series because he's been swinging it so well. But so much gratitude for him.

Q. Do you have anything from either of those guys, Molina or Pujols as far as autographed jerseys, balls, bat?

BRYCE HARPER: No. I would love a Yadi Molina Jordan chest protector. That would be pretty cool. So I might ask for that one.