With all due respect to the other seven participants in this year’s T-Mobile Home Run Derby, there was no way hometown favorite Bryce Harper was not going to win the derby in front of the pro-Nationals crowd at Nationals Park.
After breezing through the first round and semifinals, Bryce Harper met his first daunting challenge as he entered the batter’s box needing 19 home runs to top Kyle Schwarber of the Chicago Cubs.
Both Harper and his dad Ron, who was his pitcher for the night, looked gas. It seemed Harper was all but out of reach with 11 home runs with 37 seconds remaining. Then he caught fire with a frantic finish that brought everyone to their feet inside Nats Park. Harper would hit seven in the final 30 seconds to tie Schwarber with no time remaining.
Bryce Harper switched into BEAST MODE for the last 30 seconds of his final round! #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/0va6KsWadb
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 17, 2018
Harper earned his bonus time, needing just one. All that was left was the formality, as Harper’s Nationals teammates Max Scherzer and Sean Doolittle hoisted the trophy in anticipation.
The moment all of D.C. knew 📸 pic.twitter.com/7sPwSRJEoZ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 17, 2018
On the second pitch, Harper capped the night with the walk-off hammer, flipping the bat in the air in euphoria for all of D.C.
Bryce Harper won the Home Run Derby in the most dramatic way possible. pic.twitter.com/qpnvbcx0xe
— ESPN (@espn) July 17, 2018
It was a night that was supposed to be his and Harper made sure of it in dramatic fashion. As his future in D.C. remains ver questionable, Harper was able to provide Nationals fans with an everlasting memory. One that cannot be taken back.
