Bryce Harper: Top 10 Moments with the Washington Nationals

8 – First major league hit ripped into CF

The birth of the Bryce Harper era for the Washington Nationals had to start somewhere. So on April 28th, 2012, Harper gave the team’s fans a taste of what was the come with his first base hit in the major leagues.

With the Nationals leading 1-0 in the top of the seventh of his big league debut, Harper stepped in against Chad Billingsley for the third time. Cue a ball absolutely drilled to centerfield over the head of Matt Kemp to tally a base hit for the first time in his career.

The tone was set for the early stages of his career with his typical exuberance as he flew out of the box and for the first time threw off his helmet in trademark fashion. He even appeared to be looking for a triple off the bat because that’s just the type of player he was back then.

For a franchise that hadn’t had too much excitement on its roster in the seven seasons they had been in the nation’s capital, it was refreshing to see Harper inject energy into the team. Nats fans would become accustomed to the hustle, hair-flipping and raw power over the next few seasons.

Even the best in the game had to start somewhere. Bryce Harper just happened to have a moment at the very beginning that somewhat poetically summarizes what he would bring to the franchise to start his career.