Less than six months after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Phillies slugger Bryce Harper returns to the lineup in a 13-1 loss to the Dodgers.
, not even six months after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Under normal circumstances, recovery takes pitchers 12 to 18 months. For position players, who need to throw regularly to play the field regularly, the timeline is usually at least a year. The previous fastest recorded return belonged to Womack, who needed just 182 days to return from the procedure in 2004, according toNo one other than Harper would have held it against him if he had needed longer.
But Harper told reporters this week he had circled the series in Los Angeles in his mind this winter. He craves the baseball stage as much as it seems to crave him. That he staged his return in Hollywood was no coincidence. That he did it without any time spent on rehab assignment, without any competitive at-bats to prepare himself — without ever taking even a spring training at-bat under the watchful eye of that pesky pitch clock was no surprise.
. When it comes to Harper, the question has never been “is he ready?” When it comes to Harper, the question has always been, “why wait?”Harper did not wait Tuesday night. He swung at the first pitch Dodgers lefty Julio Urías threw him. He took a classically committed Harperian swing at a breaking ball from one of the best lefties in the game, and he fouled it back. Eventually, Urías struck him out on a similar pitch, a little more down, a little more away.
But even as he went hitless Tuesday, Harper was the center of the show. A day after a dramatic post on his Instagram confirmed his return, Harper was dressed for the occasion. A shimmering green belt that only he wore gleamed from the Phillies road grays with every swing. His Phanatic-themed cleats dug into the clay. Pops of green were visible on new custom BH batting gloves, the outfit chosen carefully to stand out under the bright L.A.
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