Bryce Harper: Top 10 Moments with the Washington Nationals
By Blake Finney
3 – Home Run Derby at Nationals Park
The top three in this list have quite a large margin over the rest of this list. The Home Run Derby reminded Washington Nationals fans how much they loved Bryce Harper, and it reminded Bryce Harper of how much he loved the fans.
Harper was able to cruise through the first two rounds of the competition without too much sweat. The outfielder dispatched Freddie Freeman with 30 seconds to go, and then blazed past Max Muncy with well over a minute to spare.
But in the final, Kyle Schwarber set a challenging 18 home runs to beat. Things didn’t look good for Harper needing 9 home runs in 54 seconds and 7 in just 38 seconds. But then he went on a magical rampage to finish off his regulation time tied with Schwarber’s 18. The final home run in bonus time was easy and sealed an amazing win in MLB’s showcase event.
It’s tough to recall a non-playoff game where the Nationals Park crowd has been quite as loud as it was in the final round of the HR Derby. The last 38 seconds where he just peppered home run after home run actually made the TV camera shake, and will no doubt give many Nats fans chills.
We even awarded this as District on Deck’s Moment of the 2018 Season at the end of the season. Some may say that this is too high for an event that wasn’t an actual game, but this Home Run Derby is an exception to the rule.
The number three spot in our best Bryce Harper moments is well deserved for this performance.