High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - High Hopes Chapter 1: Bryce Harper, First Baseman

Episode Date: July 23, 2023

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz discuss Bryce Harper's debut at first base for the Phillies. Presented by Miller Lite. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All-star closer, Kenley Jansen, we have a question. What's the best podcast of all time? Baseball Isn't Boring, baby. I'm Rob Bradford, and every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion. It's a cause I started more than two years ago and is now the most prolific national daily baseball pod there is.

Another fact, so jump aboard the B.I.B. Express. Follow and listen to Baseball Isn't Boring, presented by Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, let's talk Harper. He was amazing. He's like, I mean, what the hell? Like, throwing the body around like Bryce.

Especially that was like such a classic. Like, sometimes you see guys run in the stands. You're like, all right, I get it. You know, like, you know, their momentum carry over. He like dove into that little area. Like there, like, like was basically like horizontal at one point.

It's the price that wasn't even like trying to protect your body. That was almost just like, I'm just going to like throw my body willy nilly, like regardless. I mean, it did feel like for, you know, two games, it found like the ball found him

8 000 times and to get obviously he's getting thrown over that way but i'm talking like off the bat it felt like an abnormal amount of plays but i mean you know crazy to say their best first baseman in a decade or 20 years i don't know how much better is he than hoskins or hall or any of these freaking bumps we've seen over there like in in in two games he's like light years better than these guys dude when he made when he made a couple of those diving plays today i was like because my whole my whole attitude heading into us james was like i just think he's gonna be fine there like like i said he is just such like athletic and he's a baseball nerd and he's just like that guy you know what i mean and it's just like so he's making the diving plays today and i'm like i'm sitting there and i'm like of

course he is like like of course he's like turning into what rico bronia you know follow that one away from the grid um but it's but it's just like it's just like he just goes over there he's perfectly fine like they even execute like a bunt play towards first first base it's like it takes years man like do you know how long it do you know how long it takes to get on that that kind, you know, comfortability with someone else over there? And it's just so – so on one hand, it's like, yeah, that's obviously incredible. And it does show the athleticism of playing first base. Well, especially also because, like, normally it's, like,

you're lumbering guys who play first base. Like, Bryce Harper is probably in, like, the high percentile of athletic people who end up at first base. Like Bryce Harper is probably in like the high percentile of athletic people who end up at first base. You know what I mean? Well, dude, Dabrowski last week said he's the best throwing first baseman in baseball. It's like can I see him play first? Dude, wasn't his arm falling off like six months ago?

What is going on right now? But I think it's – some point, it's like hey, look, I think Reese and Ryan Howard and all these guys are great guys. But it's like, how does that guy learn the position in a month? You guys have been

doing this your entire life. He's light years better. He's already one of the five best three best defensive first baseman. Carlos Santanalos santana rico bronia and that's it like true i forget was travis lee a good defensive first baseman he was pretty decent like he wasn't i don't remember him being great but he might have been great i really travis he could have been great i think he's solid freaking you know wizard out there yeah it's just like it's it's listen and it's gonna help this team so much i mean i don't believe it or not don't think jake gave the answer in left field

so wait you're telling me are you telling me that a guy can have a 1300 ops in triple a and might not be a big league player is that is that what you're is that i didn't think that was possible when you're 30 buddy and having that uh that 30 year old with that 1300 ops and triple a a lot less impressive than you know a 20 year old top frats but 23 year old 26 year old even you know um yeah dude jk clearly not the answer it opens it up completely it gives him so many more options and look honestly like i do think that it could be the best thing for his career to stay there long term you know like if he's this good at it you know this quick how good could he be coming in he's like a good right fielder but he's not an elite right fielder he's never been like one of the best in baseball or whatever so i don't know you know it's much less pounding on his body over the years to

play there you would think like in terms of the throwing and all that stuff. Well, let me just say. The bat plays at first long term. Hey, fantasy football owners. The road to winning your fantasy football championship starts now. I'm Matt Harmon from Reception Perception. Join me and James Coe as we take a deep dive into the position that's going to make or break your fantasy roster.

Wide receivers. We analyze route running, target share, and all the metrics that matter, giving you the insights you need to draft the best wide receivers. As you prep for your draft, let us give you the coverage you need. Follow and listen to Reception Perception on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah, let me just say this. I have now seen Bryce Arbor play for two games at first base.

I'm not prepared to have another first baseman. Yeah, I think that's it, right? He's got what? So 2019, 2021, 2022. So he's got eight years left after this. Like, I don't ever want to see him play. The next eight years of Bryce Arbor's career, career first baseman pal congrats now the thing about that is that they're not gonna bring back reese unless they want to put i didn't think they were going to anyway i know yeah but i felt like

they were kind of maybe thinking about it we want them to um like i mean i was dude man like let's freaking bring mon soto here whatever like let's freaking go go win a freaking dude, man. Like, let's freaking bring Juan Soto here or whatever. Like, let's freaking go. Go win the freaking World Series, boys. I will say, to your point from before, like, Dave, John, our people in charge, maybe Kool would die verbally. Like, you don't need to say Bryce is the best throwing first baseman in baseball.

Like, reign it in. You know, like, don't set those expectations. Like, you know, if we only win one World Series, that'd be a diss win. We don't set those expectations like you know if we only win one world series that'd be at this point we don't need to say that yeah i love it we don't need to say that you know maybe win one maybe win one maybe win one maybe win one maybe let's see bryce throw before like you know what we should win more than one sure good call like yeah win one um all right uh let's just do like uh uh we'll get to the take back in a sec but anything else from the the series that sticks out to you before we move on to specific take back stuff

uh i may as well uh two two like starters thought uh i guess the three um i think that the time offer zach wheeler has just paid massive, massive dividends. Like, by the way, proper use of dividends. I just want that for the record. Proud of yourself? That was proper. That was absolutely proper. I'm really proud of you, buddy.

Zach Wheeler looks phenomenal. It was definitely not proper last time. It was 100% not proper. It wasn't even close. I think Zach Wheer looks unbelievable and and the fastball like he has been hitting 97 98 at points this year but the zip wasn't there the zip's there and you know last night i thought seventh eighth he was clearly just like curveball's not getting over sweeper's not getting over i only have a fastball

left and the fact that he only had that pitch left and was still able to get um you know get through those those portions of the order i thought was really really impressive so um i think zach wheeler is i think he just looks phenomenal and i think that time off that they did with him has just i mean it could it could have saved the season because i think you have like legitimately ace level zach wheeler back which i was not sure they were getting i thought nola was mostly fine today um i thought he got into a groove after early in the game and really like there's been too many like one nothing in the first inning and him giving up and i know it was like off the top of the wall and all that but him giving up a home run to the first inning and him giving up a home run. And I know it was like off the top of the wall and all that. But him giving up a home run in the first batter out.

It's just so – like he's like – he's becoming a cliche it feels like. It's just like, of course. And you're right. Like what did he give him? Did he end up going 7-8, right? It's like 7-3 is like solid. Like that's fine. It's fine. So you have to get him to 3 early.

Like he settles in. But it's just – it's frustrating. Well, there's just been – the issue with the starting staff right now is that it's like, okay, you've battled. It's been too much battling. You know what I mean? Like, all those guys have just been, like, battling. But it hasn't been shut down. And in June, it was a lot of shutdown.

And they just haven't totally had that. Besides Wheeler last night. So Nola, again, it's kind of been my whole mentality within the whole year it's like yeah he was fine still not totally difference making right now but taking down seven innings is valuable and then ranger i just i i just i don't i i need like i i i'm I'm starting to waver a little bit in my total confidence in Ranger to figure it out. Because I just feel like all of his stuff looks flat right now. And I hope it's a little bit of dead arm. And I hope it's just like a bit of a weird stretch in the schedule for him.

Because, I mean, he didn't have a spring training and he came back, whatever. But, man, it's just, it hasn't been crisp. And for a guy that has been so command-oriented, just hasn't been, hasn't had great command at all of any of his pitches, it feels like. So he looks really hittable, hasn't gotten into a role. It feels like he hasn't gone on like a classic Ranger rhythm start.

It feels like he's just kind of fighting himself all throughout. So I thought, obviouslyanger in june was a massive revelation but man like you're starting to realize the value of one trading for a start deadline and the value in in getting wheeler and all as much rest as possible because i think those are the guys that you're gonna have to ride to a playoff run and and i don't know if rangers in that category yet