Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper hit his 300th career home run on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels to become the 12th active player to reach 300 home runs. Harper joins Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado, J.D. Martinez and Freddie Freeman as hitters to reach the mark this season.
The 30-year-old Harper hit the milestone homer against Matt Moore in the eighth inning, marking his 15th homer this season. The two-run drive put Philadelphia ahead by a run, however, the Phillies would go on to lose the game vs. the Angels with a score of 10-8. Bryce said of his accomplishment: “There are bigger numbers in my head, but 300 is pretty good. I wanted to do it at home because I love being a Phillie. It’s something I’ve dreamed about. This city… I love them. I’m part of their family and they’re part of mine as well. There’s just nothing like it.”
Harper hit 184 homers in seven years with the Washington Nationals and won the 2015 NL MVP before he joined the Phillies as a free agent ahead of the 2019 season. Harper, who signed a $330 million, 13-year contract, has 116 homers with the Phillies, won his second MVP award in 2021 and was NL Championship Series MVP last season. He said of his time with the Phillies: “There’ve been a lot of great people who have come in and out of this clubhouse who have helped me in my career. I value playing every day. I value going out there and working and grinding each day. I love this game. I love playing with ‘Phillies’ across my chest and I love playing this game every day. It’s all I want to do.”
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