a crushing 3-2 defeat<\/a>.<\/p>\nIt all started with his speech.<\/p>\n
Team USA captain Aaron Judge was the player who addressed the squad most frequently, speaking before its first workout, its semifinal victory over the Dominican Republic and at other points over the last two-plus weeks. But in the hours leading to the WBC final, it was Harper who rose before his teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarp gave an unbelievable talk before the game, a little speech,\u201d Team USA hitting coach Sean Casey said. \u201cHe just was pumping us up about our country, everything you think a leader would say. It was a great message to us \u2013 let\u2019s go out and make this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harper spoke to reporters before word of his talk emerged. Phillies teammate Kyle Schwarber said his message was \u201cfrom the heart.\u201d And Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said it was \u201cf\u2014ing great.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got a very nice, calming presence when he decides to speak,\u201d outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said. \u201c(His talk) was just about making this our game. \u2018We\u2019ve done some really cool stuff. Fall back on that tonight. Just remember our style of baseball is what we need to go play.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI love that he decided to get up. It was a while before the game, but he kind of picked the perfect time when everybody was in there. It\u2019s always important, always nice, when somebody who has those kinds of moments on the field regularly does that, like Judgey was doing the whole trip.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge, though, went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts against Venezuela. His two-run shot in the third inning against Mexico on March 9 was his last homer of the tournament. After that, he went 2-for-16 with six strikeouts and four walks.<\/p>\n
Judge\u2019s 2025 postseason, in which he batted .500 and hit a go-ahead, three-run shot in Game 3 of the Division Series, demonstrated his ability to perform in high-pressure moments. Some might view his WBC performance as something of a regression. But the sample is awfully small, and we\u2019re still the middle of spring training, still in mid-March.<\/p>\n
Harper was hardly perfect himself in the tournament, entering the championship game 4-for-24 with just one walk. But to Casey and others, what made his home run off Venezuela\u2019s Andr\u00e9s Machado so special was that he backed up his words.<\/p>\n
Not many are capable of such a feat.<\/p>\n
The day before Team USA\u2019s WBC semifinal against the Dominican Republic, Casey practically leapt off the ground when asked if Harper was close to breaking out.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo close!\u201d Casey said.<\/p>\n
Casey, who played 12 years in the majors, described Harper as one of the hardest workers he has seen. Harper took extra batting practice during the WBC. Worked overtime in the cages. Did everything possible to get a feel for his swing.<\/p>\n
In the quarterfinal against Canada, Harper nearly hit the ball out to center field in the first inning. He also should have walked twice in the game, but plate umpire Bill Miller missed a ball four call both times.<\/p>\n
Against the D.R., Harper went 1-for-4 with a double. In the final, he was 0-for-2 against Venezuelan left-hander Eduardo Rodr\u00edguez before lining a two-out single off righty Jos\u00e9 Butt\u00f3 in the sixth. His next chance also came with two outs, two innings later with Bobby Witt Jr. on first base.<\/p>\n
Machado has not pitched in the majors since 2023, but Harper remembered the right-hander from his time as a reliever with the Washington Nationals. On a 1-0 count, he unleashed a classic Harper swing on a 93-mph pitch that Statcast classified as a changeup. Harper thought it was a fastball.<\/p>\n
Whatever it was coming in, it went out to center 109.4 mph. Harper flipped his bat. Saluted as he rounded third base. Pointed to the U.S. flag on the left arm of his uniform. And pumped his fist wildly as he crossed home plate, shouting in exultation.<\/p>\n
He said his series-clinching, go-ahead two-run shot against the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of the 2022 National League Championship Series is still his biggest homer. But he acknowledged this one probably was No. 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a moment,\u201d Harper said. \u201cObviously I love the opportunity. I\u2019m super grateful for it. We tied it up right there, and had a really good chance to win that game.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Team USA didn\u2019t win.<\/p>\n
Machado struck out Judge to end the eighth. Team Venezuela closer Daniel Palencia needed only 11 pitches to close out the U.S. 1-2-3 in the ninth.<\/p>\n
The Venezuelan players rejoiced over their first WBC title, crying, hugging, praying. Their emotions were as intense as you will ever see on a baseball field, in part because of the numerous problems their country is facing. U.S. players also love their country and their sport. They just don\u2019t demonstrate their passion as vividly.<\/p>\n
The beauty of the WBC, as Harper noted, is how it celebrates different perspectives on baseball.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s awesome to see the cultures come together. And that\u2019s what this is all about,\u201d Harper said. \u201cEach fan base, each player from each country, from Brazil to Tokyo to here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harper, though, didn\u2019t just say the right things. He also did the right thing, showing his respect for the Venezuelan players before the medal ceremony, embracing many of them and offering congratulations.<\/p>\n
Venezuelan pitcher Ranger Su\u00e1rez is a former Phillies teammate of Harper\u2019s, while outfielder Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. is a current division rival. A number of other Venezuelan players also are current major-league opponents. Harper recalled playing against Venezuelan coaches Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, I want to win, no matter what,\u201d Harper said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I play for, to win championships, to win gold medals, things like that. But in that moment, it\u2019s not about me. It\u2019s about us and our game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had a great tournament. I just wanted to let them know, congratulations. They\u2019re the best team in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
After leaving the field, Harper had another stop to make. He visited DeRosa\u2019s office, thanking his former Nationals teammate for giving him the chance to \u201cwear the colors across my chest.\u201d DeRosa, in turn, thanked him for hitting the home run that gave Team USA a chance.<\/p>\n
In his postgame news conference, DeRosa called their exchange \u201ca special moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve known Bryce for a long time. I was with the Nationals in 2012 when he was 19 years old and came to his first big league camp and spent a lot of time with him. We have a lot of history and I wanted him to be a part of this.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew he was going to have a moment, that\u2019s who he is, right? He has the ability to have big moments in big spots. He wants it. He wants to be up there in that spot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI watched him grow up in the game. Lot of conversations, knew what his career was kind of going to be like with the multiple MVPs, how he\u2019s competed. I was just proud he was a part of the team. Just to get to spend two and a half weeks, share a clubhouse with him again.\u201d<\/p>\n
And so an electrifying tournament came to a close. The noise will subside now. The final days of spring training are upon us. The regular season is a week away.<\/p>\n
Harper\u2019s Phillies, after losing the 2022 World Series to the Houston Astros, dropped the 2023 NLCS and then two straight Division Series. A number of their players, including Harper, are in their early 30s. Maybe the team will win its third straight NL East title. Maybe it will start to decline.<\/p>\n
Harper, whose .844 OPS last season was his lowest since 2016, is one of several Phillies with something to prove. His home run against Venezuela had the look of a warning shot. But his pregame talk to Team USA and postgame recognition of Team Venezuela were also vintage Harper. As much as any baseball superstar, he understands his place in the game and responsibility to the sport.<\/p>\n
He just needs a title, that\u2019s all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2013 Team Venezuela deserved to win the World Baseball Classic. Bryce Harper deserved better. Harper\u2019s ability to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2398],"tags":[5,4,415,25,414,71,4222,4820],"class_list":{"0":"post-629839","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-nationals","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-nationals","11":"tag-philadelphia-phillies","12":"tag-washington","13":"tag-washington-nationals","14":"tag-washingtonnationals","15":"tag-world-baseball-classic"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116249958458902679","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}