Entering his 14th season, Bryce Harper says there is still so much left to accomplish

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Bryce Harper was four days shy of his 20th birthday when his Washington Nationals endured one of the most shocking postseason losses in recent memory.

The Nationals, hosting the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League Division Series in 2012, blew a 6-0 lead after three innings and a 7-5 lead in the ninth, suffering elimination in a 9-7 defeat.

Harper, like his teammates, was intensely disappointed. He lingered in the quiet clubhouse until it was nearly empty. And then, turning to two reporters, he showed rare perspective for someone who was still technically a teenager.

“I’ll be doing this for the next 15 years,” he said, sort of shrugging, sort of smiling.

Harper actually was selling himself short. He is 32 now, entering his 14th season. Sometime in late June, he will reach the halfway point of his 13-year, $330 million free-agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

In a wide-ranging interview on Tuesday, Harper talked about his contract, which is less than half of Juan Soto’s record deal, his desire to become a World Series champion and his willingness to move from first base back to the outfield if the Phillies deem it best for the club. He looked ahead to 500 homers. He reflected on being a father of three. And, yes, it occurred to him how time flies.

“Halfway through, that’s pretty crazy,” Harper said, referring to his contract. “Obviously, I want to play longer than what I’ve got left. I think everybody knows that.”

His deal expires after his age 38 season. Assuming good health, he wants to play, “until his early 40s, somewhere in there.” He wants to spend all of those years with the Phillies. More than anything, he wants to win a World Series, a goal that seemed well within his grasp at 19, yet continues to elude him.

Harper’s career began during Barack Obama’s first term, but he hardly is old. He has accomplished so much, winning MVP awards in Washington and Philadelphia, producing a 1.016 OPS in seven postseasons, hitting a legendary home run to launch the Phillies into the 2022 World Series. And yet, there is more for him to achieve.

His life, his career, it’s all something of a blur. At 16 he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Today, at twice that age, he and his wife, Kayla, are raising a son, Krew, 5; and two daughters, Brooklyn, 4, and Kamryn, 10 months.

Then there is Harper’s contract, which, when he signed it in March 2019, was the most lucrative guaranteed deal in North American sports history. Six years later, the total value of that deal ranks ninth in baseball. His $25.4 million average annual value ranks 54th.

Just this offseason, Harper’s former Nationals teammate, Soto, agreed to a 15-year, $765 million free-agent deal with the New York Mets. Harper’s contract is worth $435 million less. Yet, Harper said he was neither surprised nor bothered by Soto’s record number.

“It’s the name of the game now,” he said. “Guys are getting what they’re worth. It more shocks me that a guy like Aaron Judge didn’t get more than what he got (nine years, $360 million), or certain pitchers. You look at certain players and see what they’re doing and you can expect them to be in that tier of money.

“Those are the things that shock me more than what Soto gets. I think Bobby Witt (11 years, $288.78 million) could have gotten that, somewhere near there. Same thing with Gunnar (Henderson). There are a lot of guys in our game now who are going to be up there.”

While Harper is signed through 2031, his agent, Scott Boras, has discussed an extension with the Phillies. The matter hardly is urgent; pitcher Corbin Burnes’ new six-year, free-agent deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks will expire one year before Harper’s. Rather than press the issue, Harper said, “I’m just trying to keep my feet where I am now and enjoy it.” But when he talks about team goals and personal goals, he talks about reaching them as a member of the Phillies.

Take 500 home runs. Harper, sitting on 336, is 164 short. At his present rate, including a prorated total for the shortened 2020 campaign, he would hit No. 500 in the final year of his current deal. If he experiences a natural regression, he might not get there before then.

To reach 500, Harper said, “You’ve got to stay healthy. You’ve got to stay strong. You’ve got to be on winning teams, too, I feel like. Obviously, you can do it without that. But I feel like it just pushes you that much more to be great, being in an organization with a fan base that pushes you every day.

“Individual stats are great, but that one thing, man . . . that World Series. That’s what you want to do. All those things will take care of themselves if you’re winning and if you’re staying healthy. I’m not really too worried about it.”

Nor is he worried about which position he will play long-term. Before turning professional, Harper was a catcher and third baseman. The Nationals converted him to the outfield after drafting him first overall in 2010, and he played mostly right before undergoing Tommy John surgery in November 2022.

Upon returning from the surgery in 160 days, the fastest recovery on record by a major leaguer, Harper initially was a DH. He moved to first in July 2023, and has been there ever since.

Does he want to return to the outfield?

“I talked to (the Phillies) this offseason about that, just in case a guy was available (at first) that we needed to have, needed to get,” Harper said. “I’d be more than open to it if we had a guy like that, who was going to change our lineup or change the demeanor of our team. They like me at first base. But I’d go out there to have a guy who was going to play first base and hit 35 or 40 homers.

“When Pete (Alonso) was on the block still, I kind of sat there and was like, ‘Hey, why not?’ When we talked about it, I kind of just reiterated to (the Phillies) and Scott (Boras) that I’m willing to move out there if it’s going to help us. I love playing first base. It’s been great. But if it’s going to help us win, I’d go back out there.”

The Phillies never got serious about Alonso. If Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kyle Tucker reach free agency next offseason, the team could consider signing Guerrero to play first with Harper moving back to right or — perhaps more likely — signing right fielder Kyle Tucker and keeping Harper at first.

Harper said he does not have a preference for either spot, but he enjoys the work at first and rated well at the position last season, ranking third in Outs Above Average and seventh in Defensive Runs Saved. He has never won a Gold Glove. Earning one at first, he said, “would be awesome . . . unbelievable.”

If he plays another decade, who knows what he might attain? One or more Series titles? One or more MVPs? Harper knows one thing for certain: As his children get older, he wants them to see their father at work, the effort and determination it takes for him to succeed. Krew is starting to get a feel for it, but at 5, Harper said with a chuckle, is still at an age where he “thinks everyone’s dad is a baseball player.” At 4, Brooklyn, “doesn’t really care, either or. I’m just dad.”

“It’s going to be fun to bring Krew around here, let him kind of learn, see things and adapt to it,” Harper said. “He loves all sports. I’m going to let him play as many sports as he can, not just harp on baseball. I love the game. It’s a great game we play. But I’m going to let him drive his own car.”

Heck, if Harper plays into his early 40s, Krew might be old enough for his actual driver’s license before dad retires. Harper obviously cannot guarantee he will continue for that long, but LeBron James is still in the NBA at 40 and Tom Brady played in the NFL until he was 45. With advancements in training and nutrition, Harper believes baseball players can achieve similar longevity. Then again, he also is aware of the passage of time.

On Sunday, when the Phillies hosted a Grapefruit League game against the Baltimore Orioles, the Orioles’ DH was catcher Samuel Basallo, the No. 3 prospect in the game, according to The Athletic’s Keith Law, and only 20 years old. Orioles first base coach Anthony Sanders mentioned Basallo’s age to Harper, whose immediate reaction was, “Man, that’s wild.”

“This is my 15th spring training,” Harper said. “It’s pretty crazy. But it’s been a blast. I still love competing, coming in here, doing my job, playing for the guys next to me.

“There’s nothing like it.”

From 16, on the cover of SI. To 32, nearly halfway through his contract. And beyond.

(Top photo: Heather Barry / Getty Images)

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