Phillies 1st baseman, Bryce Harper on the Phillies, London and playing with jet lag.
London Stadium, London, UK
London Stadium, London, UK
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00:00You want to win and do everything you can to do that.
00:05But at the same time, it's tough to come all the way over here
00:08and not try to enjoy it.
00:10I mean, we got three off days over here,
00:12two off days here, and try to enjoy those
00:15because those are few and far between, as you guys know.
00:19So, just trying to enjoy it as much as we can.
00:23Bryce, Topper was telling us a little bit
00:26about dinner last night at Tower of London.
00:30What did you sort of take away from that?
00:32What will you remember from that,
00:33and what was that experience like?
00:35I actually didn't go.
00:37Yeah, I wasn't there.
00:38Well, I know that you like food and you like restaurants.
00:42Anything stick out to you so far?
00:44I know it's only been a day.
00:45Yeah, no, we went to the market.
00:49I don't even know what it was called, but a bunch of vendors.
00:53Just tried a bunch of different food.
00:56I really enjoy food,
00:58so being able to kind of pick and choose what I wanted.
01:01I picked and chose a lot of stuff.
01:02So, just a lot of fun to go in there, walk around,
01:06and I've actually enjoyed people
01:08not really realizing who I am.
01:10So, being able to walk around and just be kind of
01:14just another person out there has been great.
01:16Yeah, I was going to ask you if you've been recognized.
01:18I know there are a lot of people from Philly here,
01:20so what's it been like out on the street?
01:22Yeah, Philly fans, I mean, we've got a bunch of those.
01:25I've seen a handful of those from Philly
01:28and stuff like that, so I've stopped
01:29and talked to them a little bit.
01:31But, yeah, I mean, it's just been great
01:32kind of just walking around and enjoying that.
01:38Okay, Bryce, it sounds like maybe you were at Borough Market.
01:41Does that ring a bell? Maybe.
01:42Maybe, yeah, I don't know.
01:43But, okay, the three major sports here in England,
01:47of course, are football or soccer, rugby, and cricket.
01:51Do you have any interest or knowledge
01:53at all of those three sports?
01:56I saw USA won last night. That was pretty cool.
01:58Oh, yeah, and cricket, right, over Pakistan.
02:00Yeah, that was awesome. That guy rakes, that captain.
02:05Damn, he can hit a cricket ball.
02:08But, yeah, I mean, I think football, right?
02:11That's what they call it, yeah.
02:12I don't want to say soccer. I feel bad.
02:15But, yeah, I mean, what an incredible sport.
02:18I mean, my wife grew up playing it all through college
02:20and was pretty good at it.
02:22So, I mean, just being able to kind of watch it when it's on.
02:27Premier League's all over.
02:29You know, RTV in the States as well.
02:31So it's pretty cool to watch.
02:34Jack Grellish, I think, is one of the names.
02:36I love his hair, actually. He's got really good.
02:38He's got a really good mop, man.
02:41Yeah, that, yeah.
02:43But, you know, obviously, we play with some Latin players
02:46as well on our team, and they always have the Premier League
02:49on, or World Cup, or any type of, you know,
02:53soccer or anything like that. They absolutely love it.
02:56So it's always on in our clubhouse.
03:03Hey, Bryce.
03:05First, congratulations on the recent Player of the Month award.
03:08Obviously, it's been an amazing year for you
03:09on and off the field.
03:11How much have you learned about yourself
03:13over, like, your time in Philadelphia?
03:14Because a lot's changed for you in terms of family
03:16and, obviously, the success on the field as well.
03:18Yeah, you know, I think just being able
03:22to kind of get into an organization,
03:24and, you know, once I signed there,
03:26you know, knowing the way it was supposed to kind of go.
03:32You know, John, knowing, you know, his mentality,
03:35what he wanted to do, what he wanted to happen,
03:37or what he wanted to happen.
03:41He's just, he was incredible knowing
03:44what kind of, you know, track he wanted this team to be on.
03:47And I feel like we fulfilled that.
03:48We've hit that a little bit.
03:50Obviously, our main goal is to win a World Series.
03:53And so, you know, that's what we're striving
03:55towards every single day, you know,
03:58as a team, as an organization.
03:59And I think we've, you know,
04:01had a great start to our season this year.
04:03But, obviously, you know, we play a full season,
04:05and a lot of things can happen,
04:07and we just got to keep rolling, keep doing our thing,
04:09and understanding as a team what we need to do.
04:12And on an individual standpoint, obviously, you know,
04:15just keep going, keep understanding,
04:17you know, I can be better in all facets of the game,
04:20and, you know, get better every day.
04:22And obviously, there's been a lot of young guys
04:24coming through this team, as well,
04:25and there's a real solid core of older veterans,
04:28not older, but, you know, like veterans around the team.
04:30How much of, like, pride do you take over that young group
04:33and watching guys like Alec Bond
04:35be able to take his game to that next level?
04:37Yeah, I think as a team and as an organization,
04:39I think we do a great job of, you know,
04:41we don't care where you're from, who you are, what you do,
04:43if the team you were with before liked you,
04:45didn't like you, whatever.
04:47We don't care about any of that.
04:49We really, if you're in our clubhouse,
04:51you're part of our team, you're part of our family.
04:52We want you here.
04:54We want you to know that we have all the confidence
04:55in the world, no matter how old you are,
04:57how long you've been in the game, if it's been one game
04:59or if it's been, you know, 15 years, we don't care.
05:02You know, we want you to know that we have all the confidence
05:04in you to go do your job,
05:05and I think we do a great job of that
05:07with our young guys, as well.
05:09Alec Bond is, you know,
05:11turning into a premier player in our league,
05:13and, you know, same thing with Bryson Stott,
05:16and, you know, Brandon Marsh is doing a great job for us.
05:18Rojas has done a, you know, phenomenal job
05:20in center field for us, as well.
05:22And then, obviously, our starting pitching
05:24has been, you know, lights out this year,
05:25and, you know, if you have starting pitching like that,
05:27then you have a really good chance to win,
05:29so it's been really good.
05:31And then, just finally, obviously the past couple of years,
05:33there have been different journeys and winds
05:35and, like, winds in the road to get to the playoffs
05:38in that World Series a couple years ago.
05:40How much were you able to learn from those experiences
05:42that will help, you know, keep the ship steady
05:44and moving in the right direction for this year?
05:45Yeah, I mean, I think you can pull a lot of stuff
05:48from each game or each experience you've been in, right,
05:52being able to kind of, you know, understand the wins,
05:55the losses, what you can do better as a team,
05:57what you can do better as an individual, as well.
06:01So, I think you can pull a lot of stuff from that
06:03and, you know, put it forth each day that you play.
06:06Okay. On the right side, on the left.
06:09Hello.
06:12When you signed from Washington to Philadelphia,
06:15ESPN got the top 100 sports persons,
06:19and you are the only Major League Baseball player
06:21represented in this 100, based on popularity.
06:26Is it that we are struggling promoting our sport,
06:29that nobody else from the Major League Baseball been there?
06:32Are you surprised that you've been the only one there?
06:35This is the question one.
06:36The question two is, in Europe, we don't know much,
06:39but we know that you ended on your way
06:41to the airport with one shoe.
06:43What else you could do for our fans?
06:47Popularity of the game.
06:48I mean, obviously, we have some really good players
06:51in our game from all over the world,
06:55and it's a great game to see, kind of, get over here
06:59and down into Mexico, you know, and a lot of other places.
07:03I think, as we, you know, come into the U.K.,
07:06I'd imagine we'd probably go into a lot of other places,
07:08just like the NFL has, as well, and I think that's going to help.
07:11I think that's going to help,
07:13kind of, put our game in front of fans,
07:15but also, fans are going to want to,
07:17or they're going to have to want to watch us play, right?
07:19Obviously, other countries are into, you know,
07:22different sports and things like that,
07:23so as much as you put it into people's faces
07:26or anything like that,
07:28the Premier League is still going to be bigger.
07:30You know, there's certain things that are bigger than baseball.
07:33Obviously, the NFL has a pretty good,
07:35you know, fan base over here, as well.
07:38Basketball in Europe, right?
07:40I mean, I think a lot of players,
07:43or a lot of fans know basketball
07:46because basketball is in Europe, as well.
07:48So, I think, as the game grows and as it goes,
07:51I think the more and more we go into different cultures
07:54or different areas in the country or world,
07:57I think it will grow a little bit more.
08:00And then, I can't remember what you did.
08:02Oh, the shoe.
08:04No, I was on the plane, and that's pretty much all I had.
08:07He didn't really have anything,
08:09and so I took the shoe off and signed it,
08:11and I thought it was a pretty cool moment for him, so.
08:19England's European Championship football squad
08:22was announced recently, and the manager dropped Jack Grealish.
08:26I'm just wondering if you had a message
08:27for Gareth Southgate's campaign to bring him back.
08:30I didn't know Manchester City dropped him.
08:32That's a bummer.
08:34I don't know. That's a bummer.
08:37Thanks.
08:42Talking about baseball competing
08:44with the other major sports in the world,
08:46what, in your opinion, is what makes baseball special?
08:51I mean, I grew up playing it, right?
08:52So, I mean, I grew up playing football,
08:54baseball, basketball, other sports, as well.
08:57And I just, I don't know.
09:01I mean, I love the grass. I love the leather.
09:03I love the dirt, you know, the wood bat, man.
09:06I mean, I remember the first time I wore metal cleats,
09:08right, and the first time it was like click, click, click, click.
09:11You know, that's, as you get older,
09:13you wear the moldeds, right, and then you go into metals,
09:15and that's kind of like, oh, wow, this is cool.
09:16Like, I'm like an older guy, right?
09:20But, no, I mean, just the whole thing.
09:21I mean, the tradition of Major League Baseball, as well.
09:26You know, it's been around for a long time.
09:28And so, I think you just,
09:30you find that in a lot of players, as well.
09:32I think the game has changed so much from that.
09:36And, obviously, you still have your traditionalists
09:38in the game, but I think as the game has gotten younger
09:41and players have gotten younger, as well,
09:42I think people have kind of pulled,
09:43you know, from those players and have seen that,
09:46the emotion and all that kind of stuff.
09:47And I think that's helped.
09:49But, also, you have to understand
09:51this is a traditional game, as well.
09:52You know, so you can't, you got to kind of border both sides
09:55because you don't want to lose one fan and lose the other.
09:57You want to pull them, you know, and have everybody together.
10:00And I think you can learn from other sports, too.
10:02I think you can understand, you know,
10:05how other sports do what they do and try to learn from them
10:07and, you know, grow the game in that aspect, too.
10:09And I think my biggest thing, too, is the Olympics.
10:12I think when you have sports in the Olympics
10:14and understanding the sports in the Olympics,
10:18there's nothing more worldwide than the Olympics, right?
10:21Like, you watch it.
10:22And, I mean, I watch the most random sports
10:26during the Olympics because it's the Olympics, right?
10:28And you're like, oh, this is so cool.
10:29You pull from that. It's really cool.
10:32So not having baseball in the Olympics is really tough,
10:34I think, because, I mean, if you can
10:36and send those players over there and take that break,
10:40I think that's kind of the big one.
10:43You know, I love hockey, and, you know,
10:45that's one of my favorite sports to watch.
10:46And seeing that in the Olympics is one of the coolest things,
10:49you know, ever, and they take that three-week break
10:51and they let those guys go and play.
10:53So I think that's another big goal,
10:55I think, that we should have as a, you know, Major League Baseball.
11:02Hiya. For the British people
11:05who maybe don't really know much about baseball,
11:07what's the one thing that you would say
11:10should excite them about the game
11:12and get them into baseball
11:14and coming to, like, the London Series more often?
11:18Yeah, I mean, I think it's just different.
11:21Like, it's just a different game.
11:22I think, obviously, you know, F1, you know,
11:31football, NFL, basketball, every sport's different.
11:36But baseball, just the dynamic of the game,
11:39seeing a guy throw a one-hitter, I mean, is one,
11:41or a no-hitter is one of the coolest things
11:42you could ever see, or a perfect game.
11:44And I know people don't really like that
11:46because they want to see homers
11:47and they want to see different things.
11:48But I think if you really watch the game and understand it,
11:51you understand how difficult that is to do
11:54or how difficult it is to go out there
11:56and get a hit against a Major League Baseball pitcher.
11:59I mean, just the – it's very, very difficult
12:02to go out there and play this game.
12:03And I know sometimes it feels like it's boring
12:05because a guy's, you know, shoving or pitching well.
12:10Or, you know, a guy goes up there and hits three homers,
12:13and you're like, oh, my gosh, how the heck did he hit
12:14three homers against a, you know, Major League pitcher?
12:17So there's so many things that can happen on any given night.
12:20Or you're watching Aaron Judge for the first time,
12:22and, you know, he hits one to the moon.
12:26You know, it's an incredible thing.
12:28So the more and more you watch and the more and more
12:30you see players or, you know, teams,
12:33you kind of sit there and you're all in.
12:36You're involved and you're ready to go.
12:38It's such a long season, too, so you're able to watch
12:41and you can watch every night.
12:43And then just to clarify something,
12:45Jack Grealish has an F1 City.
12:47He's been dropped from England.
12:49Oh, there you go.
12:50Just so that you know that, first off.
12:53And then, secondly, England are doing a friendly
12:56with Iceland later on today at quarter to eight.
12:58I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Can you repeat that?
13:00I'm sorry.
13:01England are doing a friendly in football.
13:04So in football, England's doing a friendly
13:05with Iceland pre-Euros tonight at quarter to eight.
13:10Will you be going to a pub to watch the football
13:12and immerse in that sort of culture and experience?
13:14So I'll tell you what.
13:16The coolest thing I've seen in London yet
13:18is I've driven by and I've seen people outside the pub
13:22drinking and having conversations
13:24with no phones or anything like that.
13:27And I think that's one of the cooler things
13:29I've seen just in the world today
13:31because people don't have that.
13:32You don't disconnect like that.
13:34And so I think that's, I said it on MLB Network,
13:38being able to kind of drive by and see friends together
13:41and family together and everybody's hanging out
13:42outside pubs and drinking or doing whatever they're doing
13:45with no phones and disconnected.
13:48I think everybody can learn from that
13:50because that's one of the cooler things
13:52I've seen in a while.
13:55I don't know if I'll go in and watch tonight,
13:57but that's one of the cooler things I've seen.
14:02Hi Bryce, speaking of the Olympics,
14:04so would that be something you'd be interested
14:07in playing in in 2028 in Los Angeles?
14:10Yeah, absolutely.
14:10I mean, I've talked to numerous people
14:12with MLB about it and I would love to be part of that.
14:17Obviously we have the WBC, but it's not the same.
14:21It's not.
14:22I mean, people can say as much as they want.
14:24It's just not.
14:25The Olympics is so worldwide.
14:28And so, I mean, WBC's great.
14:31It's really cool.
14:32Brings a lot of people together
14:33and that's what it's all about.
14:35But the Olympics is something
14:37that you dream about playing in.
14:40And so if I have a chance to put my nation's colors on
14:43and represent that on my chest again,
14:45like I did when I was 18 and 16, I would absolutely love it.
14:49And just one other, do your eyes kind of light up
14:52when you see all the runs that have been scored
14:54in this stadium in particular
14:55and in these international games generally recently?
15:01Yeah, I mean, if we're on the right side of that,
15:04I'll take it any day of the week.
15:07But yeah, I mean, I think we're just gonna go out there
15:09and enjoy it as much as possible.
15:11Enjoy the fans, enjoy the game,
15:13and, you know, have some fun.
15:17Cool, thanks y'all.
15:18Appreciate it.