CLEARWATER, Fla. — Fresh off his dramatic championship-game home run and a silver-medal finish at the World Baseball Classic, Bryce Harper returned to Phillies camp on Thursday morning with plenty of thoughts on his Team USA experience.
Harper, once a rising phenom who represented the United States in international tournaments as a teenager, relished his chance to rep the red, white and blue again this spring. The two-time National League MVP batted .214 in seven games as Team USA’s first baseman, but he did go 2-for-4 with a game-tying home run in the gold-medal game. Venezuela ultimately rallied back in the ninth inning to win its first WBC.