It was February 28 when Phillies fans believed the renaissance had arrived. At least that was the theme of the press conference in Clearwater, Florida, where Bryce Harper was introduced the following Saturday as Philadelphia's newest baseball savior, complete with a contract large enough to actually bankroll a half-dozen small-market teams. At $330 million over 13 years, Harper didn't just become baseball's richest player, he also turned into the Phillies' liberator. This was no ordinary transaction; it was a coronation.
Harper was both warrior and diplomat, speaking to the legion of loyalists who cared less about his millions than a second, more salient set of numbers—a drought that's limited the franchise to one world championship in the new millennium and only two in the last 40 years.