Bryce Harper hit his 300th career home run on Wednesday night. It was a majestic moment, a towering go-ahead blast in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Philly the 8-7 lead. Harper celebrated it as such and the crowd went berserk, which tends to happen in Philly. Especially with players the city has fallen head over heels for.
Harper probably takes the crown for most popular athlete in Philadelphia. He has some stiff competition from Jalen Hurts, and there's a loud faction of Joel Embiid supporters when he's not stinking up the NBA playoffs, but Harper is the belle of Philly's ball. He's great, the Phillies continue to win games, and most importantly, Harper knows how to pander.
There's an art to pandering to any fanbase, but it's especially important in Philadelphia. That's not to say Harper's relationship to the fanbase is disingenuous or facile — it's not — but a player does not win over the Philadelphia faithful without playing the right notes.
It's not as simple as talking about cheesesteak or adding 'jawn' to the vernacular either. A player has to truly embrace the pure insanity of the city's fandom. Philadelphia has rightly earned a reputation for being harsh, unforgiving, even vulgar. But the fanbase also loves its teams, often to the point of conflict. It's like any marriage — it's a deep and pure love, but sometimes that love manifests as cold, blunt criticism.
Harper gets it. What 'it' is exactly may never be scientifically pegged down, but he understands how to play the fanbase like a professional pianist tickles the ivories. That's all any fanbase can really hope for: a player who reaches out, makes an effort to understand them, and then reciprocates it with constant effort on the field.
After the game on Wednesday — a game the Phillies managed to lose despite Harper's late heroics — Harper spoke about his 300th home run, but also what preceded it.
Bryce Harper shouts out Philadelphia Phillies radio caller after 300th home run
Harper told reporters about his drive up to Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday afternoon. He was listening to WIP, the local sports radio station. That's when Chuck, a local caller, dialed in to speak his mind about the Phillies. It inspired Harper to make a promise.
"I was driving in today and I was listening to WIP today, like I do a lot in the two o'clock hour," Harper told Dave Uram. "A guy named Chuck called in... I walked in the training room and I was like, 'I'm going to go deep tonight for Chuck!' That guy had me fired up man."
And, go deep he did.
Like any city, the average sports radio caller in Philadelphia can be crude, illogical, and oftentimes just plain mean. One has to imagine Chuck operated with more grace than that, because he clearly touched Harper's heart. But it's a two-way street, which Harper understands better than most. Chuck, too, was fired up by the events that unfolded.
"This is great man," said the Phillies superfan in another interview with Hugh Douglas and Joe Giglio of WIP. "This is freakin' amazing man. It just put a smile on my face all day man."
Harper has laid the blueprint for connecting with a fanbase. It's up to other players to follow suit. There's no other fanbase quite like Philadelphia — it's a unique challenge with equally unique rewards — but Harper's interaction here is universal. If you let the fans know you're listening, through the good and the bad, the support will come naturally.
"The guy gets in here," said Chuck. "He's a great player, we know that. But when you are loved here in Philadelphia and the way you are received here in Philadelphia is when you can relate to the fanbase. Bryce is the type of guy that, he relates to us man. When you relate to us, we relate to you."
That's all it takes, folks.
