The rookies meeting veterans at first base sounds like an absolute fan-boy moment. And when the veteran is someone like Bryce Harper, you can expect a few words to be exchanged at first base. For Harper, the new crop of rookies are more comfortable and open in starting a conversation at first base, but the A’s leading rookie’s fan-boying moment even caught Harper by surprise.
A’s Nick Kurtz had named his pet cat after Harper!
“According to Harper, this is the first time that he’s aware of — that an opponent had a pet named after him. But he’s used to facing players who grew up watching him,” Inquirer.com reports.
Rookies can have a different way of offering respect to the veterans, but naming a pet after a veteran? That surely sounds unique. “Especially the young guys, there’s been a lot of them that get over to first base, and it’s a little weird during the game, just because, [they say] ‘Man, you’re my favorite player growing up,’ or a lot of stuff like that,” Harper said. “But it’s still really cool. I mean, I love talking to the young guys too, because obviously I want to help them in any way, or give them an ear.”
Since Harper took over the first base duty from the outfield, he now comes close to the opponent players at first base. In the last games between the Phillies and the A’s, Harper singled in the first inning and met Kurtz defending first base. Citizens Bank Park saw them having a chat, but about what? They reportedly talked about Kurtz’s 20-game walk streak, which was the second-longest in MLB. But Harper still didn’t know about Kurtz’s pet cat.
“It’s pretty cool,” Kurtz said. “I got that cat probably in 2022 [or] 2023, and it’s not too long ago. But for me, I was still in college and did not know where life was going to go. … Now he’s one of my colleagues, which is pretty awesome.”
According to Kurtz, he named his cat after Harper as a sign of respect. But why Harper only? Despite naming his three other dogs after Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Hunter Pence, Kurtz still has a special reason behind his fandom for Bryce Harper.
The 23-year-old reigning AL Rookie of the Year grew up in Lancaster, and he has been a Phillies fan since his childhood. Photos were also available in the public form showing Kurtz at Citizens Bank Park with his family. So, cheering for the Phillies and donning a Harper jersey was common for him. So, meeting Harper on Tuesday was a “life comes full circle” moment for Kurtz.
“He hits the ball extremely hard,” Harper said about Kurtz. “Really good player. And wish him all the success, because he’s in a pretty good spot.” Kurtz is going well, hitting .252 this season. However, it is Bryce Harper who is steadily getting back his ‘elite’ status.
Bryce Harper looks elite since the Phillies shakeup
The Phillies fired Rob Thomson during their 9-19 season. And since then, the team has looked more dominant under Don Mattingly. The Phillies are now 8-1 since Thomson left, and the credit goes to Bryce Harper’s sudden hot streak. This week, his homer against the Marlins won the game for the Phillies. Then, in less than 24 hours, his 393-footer against the A’s put the Phillies up 1-0.
In the same game, Harper scored his second homer of the game. That was a two-run shot to center, which helped him to score 3 homers in two games. In his last 25 games, which is about 70 percent of the Phillies’ season so far, Harper is slashing .319/.406/.637 with seven homers and 16 RBIs.
Since Thomson was fired, Harper is hitting .360! We wonder if the Phillies president would still find him not elite enough.
“I think we all were kind of just waiting for that ball to drop… Waiting for something to happen, if Thomson was gonna get fired, or if he wasn’t. It was just kind of we need to get over this hump, and get through this,” Harper said about his hot streak.
So, was the Phillies clubhouse waiting for the ball to drop? Maybe or maybe not, but stats prove that Harper had found his lost rhythm after Thomson left. Hopefully, he could carry the momentum hereon.
