Barry Bonds. Hank Aaron. Babe Ruth. Bryce Harper.
When Harper enters a future free-agent meeting with the Phillies, some fancy graphic with those four names, home runs soaring out of hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park and a future as a member of the 700 home run club in Cooperstown sounds like it will be part of the conversation.
According to John Perrotto of FanRag Sports, citing a team source, the Phillies will do exactly what's been rumored for months--pursue Harper if (or when) he hits free agency after the 2018 season.
The prevailing thought is that if Bryce Harper leaves the Washington Nationals as a free agent following next season, he likely will wind up landing with the New York Yankees.
Though the right fielder grew up in Las Vegas, he was a Yankees fan. The Yankees also figure to have enough money stockpiled to sign either Harper or Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado during the 2018-19 offseason after gradually reducing payroll in recent years.
However, a Phillies source says his team would have interest in trying to lure Harper to Philadelphia if he reaches free agency. Harper readily admits how much he loves to hit at Citizens Bank Park, where he has batted .296/.361/.627 with 12 home runs in 158 career plate appearances.
While more confirmation in the Phillies interest in baseball's best left-handed slugger is a boon for fans wishing for good baseball to return to Philadelphia, the Phillies' pitch is even more intriguing: Sell Harper on the park, historic slugging totals and his spot in baseball history.
Part of the Phillies' pitch to Harper would be that he could finish his career with historic home run numbers if he played half his games at CBP. The 23-year-old Harper has 134 career home runs in six seasons.
"Could you imagine what he could do in that ballpark playing 81 games a year in that bandbox?" a scout from a National League team said.
Here's a guess: 50-plus home runs on a yearly basis, and a chance to push for 700 career long balls.
In 142 career at-bats at Citizens Bank Park--granted, much of that has been against lousy Phillies pitching in recent years--Harper has launched a homer every 11.8 at-bats. Babe Ruth's career AB/HR ratio was 11.76. Harper is essentially Babe Ruth when the steps to the plate at Citizens Bank Park.
The 24-year-old has been pretty great everywhere in 2017. Heading into play on May 25, Harper owns a .346/.454/.686 slash line.
Joe Giglio may be reached at jgiglio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGiglioSports. Find NJ.com on Facebook.