October is upon us, which means it's officially spooky season, and of course the baseball postseason. Bryce Harper is evidently a Halloween fanatic, as the Phils star ran through a stop sign from his third base coach as if the man didn't even exist.
Harper has earned the right to do what he wants on the basepaths. His comeback halfway through this season from Tommy John surgery was nothing short of remarkable. His efficiency after the fact deserves recognition, as well, and now Harper is ready to lead these Phillies on another playoff run.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Harper rounded third on a line drive to the wall from teammate Nick Castellanos. While the Phils third base coach wanted to play conservative, Harper would have none of it.
Dusty Wathan, or the ghost of Dusty Wathan, went unseen in the moment, which is why Harper scored on the play.
Bryce Harper extends Phillies lead in Game 1
Harper hit 21 home runs with a 1.004 OPS since mid-July. He's impressed his teammates and even manager Rob Thomson, who did not expect this kind of performance from his star player upon his return.
"If you look at his year, he really didn't have a Spring Training," Thomson said. "He actually started off fairly good [in May] and then there's a fatigue factor that sets in. And then when the fatigue sets in, sometimes you change your swing. It's a confidence thing so he's got to work through all those things. And finally he got it. I think he went from smothering balls at one point to lofting balls. Once he starts lofting balls, it's a good sign that his swing is headed in the right direction. All in all, you look at his numbers, they're pretty good for five months, four and a half months, whatever he played. I'm glad he's back."
In rounding third without hesitation, Harper showed off his in-game instincts, which cannot be rivaled across baseball itself.
