Bryce Harper’s NLCS birthday bash: Phillies celebrate with homer and home-field marks to behold
Alec Bohm #AlecBohm
PHILADELPHIA — It doesn’t take a whole lot to rattle the Richter scales at Citizens Bank Park these days. But it took just one pitch for Game 1 of the 2023 National League Championship Series to turn into another stadium-shaker.
First came a Kyle Schwarber 117 mph mortar off the auxiliary scoreboard. Then came a Bryce Harper lunar orbiter that came down where baseballs never land. Then it was Nick Castellanos’ turn to make it three home runs off Zac Gallen in the first seven batters of this series. And it turned into Phillies 5, Diamondbacks 3, on Another One of Those Nights in South Philly.
So the Weird and Wild column is back, to rip through all that Philadelphia long ball madness.
1. Like a Candle in the Win
So what do you think Bryce Harper usually does on his birthday? A little cake? A glob of ice cream on top? Let the kids blow out the candles? Hope the gifts don’t include too many gift cards?
Yeah, well, whatever, because here’s how Mr. Birthday October celebrated his 31st Monday night.
That’s 420 feet worth of birthday bash right there, over the bleachers in right-center field, off a railing in the visitors (upper-level) bullpen that can’t possibly have ever been clanked by a home run ball before.
Then the birthday basher finished off his trot with a blow-out-the-candles pantomime that he said he just thought of, off the top of his head, as he was trotting his way through another Bedlam at the Bank October moment.
“It’s crazy,” Harper said. “Sometimes I just do stuff, and that felt right, so I thought I would step on home plate and do that. I just thought about it as I was running around third base, that I would do it.”
OK, whatever that was — off the cuff, on the cuff, planned for weeks, never planned until he reached third base — here’s what he needs to know: His Phillies teammates now want to be invited to every Bryce Harper birthday party for the rest of their lives.
“After that,” said third baseman Alec Bohm, “I’ll take as many (invitations) as I can get.”
“That was a fun one tonight,” left fielder Brandon Marsh said. “So I hope I’m at every one of them. Something special happens every birthday.”
We don’t usually open these Weird and Wild columns with birthday notes. But we take these notes however they flow by us. So here it comes, Bryce’s Birthday Bash Weird and Wild collection:
First pitch fever — Does it surprise anybody to hear that Harper mashed that home run on the very first pitch he had ever been thrown on his birthday since he arrived in the big leagues? True story. In his days with Washington, the Nationals never played this deep into October. And last year, when the Phillies played into November, his birthday fell on an off day.
So let’s ask again: Did that surprise anybody? It definitely didn’t surprise his teammates. They just thought it was pretty much the most Bryce Harper thing ever.
“Oh yeah,” Bohm said. “That’s about right. I mean, just being honest with you, after playing with that guy for the last four years, I kind of just figured. It’s his birthday, so he’s hitting a homer today. That’s just what he does.”
Bryce’s birthday club — On one hand, Harper was not the first player to hit a postseason home run on his birthday. He joined Willie Mays Aikens (1980 World Series — in Philadelphia), Evan Longoria (2013 ALDS) and Kolten Wong (2015 NLDS) in that club.
But how many other players in history have whomped a postseason home run on the first pitch they saw on their birthdays? That would be nobody. Just Harper.
And one more thing: This was the 127th postseason game in Phillies history. How many other Phillies have driven in any kind of run on their birthday, via a long ball or any other means? That would also be none. Just Harper.
The Bryce is right — Finally, let’s remind you again that we’re watching one of the great October performers of all time. Here’s where he ranks in three categories that should open anyone’s eyes.
• His career postseason slugging percentage is up to .652. Among all players with 150 career postseason plate appearances, only two men rank ahead of him — Babe Ruth (.744) and Lou Gehrig (.731).
• Harper’s career postseason OPS is up to 1.044. Over the past week, he has zoomed by Albert Pujols (.995), Carlos Beltrán (1.021) and George Brett (1.023) in that department. Only two players in history rank ahead of him. Yep, them again: Ruth and Gehrig (both at 1.214).
• And it’s time to talk about that fascinating new-age metric to measure “clutchiness” — Win Probability Added. According to FanGraphs, Harper entered Monday ranked 11th all time in total postseason Win Probability Added. But of the 10 players ahead of him, all but two had at least 20 more postseason games than him (43, if we count Monday).
The only exceptions: Gehrig (34 games) and Lance Berkman (52). But at this rate, if Harper had as many games played as the guy who ranks No. 1 in WPA, David Ortiz (3.22 in 85 games), he would have by far the most WPA of anyone since this metric has been computed.
So let’s say this again: We’re watching something special, a player on a path to Cooperstown who just keeps working his October magic — and not just when it’s time to blow out those birthday candles.
2. First things first
A home run on the first pitch of the game (by Schwarber). … Then two batters later, another first-pitch home run by the birthday boy, Harper.
Elsewhere on The Athletic, you can read a fabulous deep dive by Matt Gelb on the approach and the preparation that led to those first-pitch blasts. But hey, this is the Weird and Wild column. So allow us to provide a slightly different perspective.
Two first-pitch homers in the first inning? Well, you definitely don’t see that every day. In fact, in the pitch-counting era (since 1988), this was only the second time any team had hit two first-pitch homers in the first inning of a postseason game. And …
The only other time it happened was in this very ballpark, because of course it was. That was Game 2 of the 2007 Division Series, when Troy Tulowitzki and Matt Holliday of the Rockies cranked first-pitch bombs off Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick in the first inning.
Incredibly, Jimmy Rollins then led off the bottom of the first inning that day with another first-pitch homer. But we digress.
A home run on the first pitch of a series? Besides Schwarber, only four other men in the pitch-counting era have homered on the first pitch thrown to their team in any postseason series. And one of them (Jose Altuve) just did that a week ago. But here are the other three:
• Brady Anderson (1997 ALCS, Orioles)
• Alcides Escobar (bizarro leadoff inside-the-parker off Matt Harvey, for the Royals, in the 2015 World Series)
• Chris Taylor (2017 World Series, Dodgers).
They flipped the Diamondbacks’ script upside-down! In the last round, the Diamondbacks swept a three-game series against the Dodgers in which they never trailed for a single pitch in the series. And then, naturally …
The D-Backs kicked off this series by serving up a home run on the first pitch of the first game … which meant, obviously, they now haven’t led for a single pitch in this series so far (all one game of it).
There’s a lot of baseball still to be played in this NLCS, of course. But you should know that no team in the pitch-counting era has ever gone through one round of the postseason without ever trailing for any pitch and then given up a home run on the first pitch of the next round. Until now!
3. Phil it up
I’m not sure at what point we can declare Citizens Bank Park to be baseball’s all-time House of Horrors for teams not known as the Phillies. But is it possible we’re already there? Try to digest what we’ve been watching in scenic South Philadelphia over the last two postseasons:
The Phillies still haven’t lost — even once — to any NL playoff team! That’s 10 games at home now in the Wild Card Series, the Division Series and the League Championship Series over the last two postseasons … and the Phillies have run the table. They’re 10-0. And how many other teams have ever ripped off a 10-game postseason winning streak at home against teams from their own league? That would be none. The previous record was nine, by Albert Pujols’ 2004-05 Cardinals.
They’ve smoked 32 homers in their last 13 home games! The Phillies have played 13 games at the Bank since the start of last year’s postseason. They’ve outhomered the teams they’re playing, 32-13! So they’re averaging about 2.5 homers a game — which would be astonishing enough if they hadn’t had a no-hitter thrown against them in one of those games (by Houston in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series).
Want to guess how many other teams have ever hit that many homers in any span of 13 postseason games in their home park? I hope you guessed none, because according to Baseball Reference, that’s the answer.
They’ve already hit 14 homers at home in this postseason! Monday was the Phillies’ fifth game at Citizens Bank Park this October. How about this:
HR hit by the Phillies — 14HR allowed by the Phillies — 2
And overall, in the seven games of this postseason, the Phillies are outhomering their opponents, 16-4. According to the Elias Sports Bureau (via the great Sarah Langs of MLB.com), that makes them the first franchise to outhomer its opponents by 12 (or more) in any span of seven postseason games. Amazing.
So how can this be happening? I became the latest inquisitive baseball writer to try my best to get someone on this team to explain this home-field advantage, and what makes this park different from all those other parks. That someone was Brandon Marsh. He did his best.
MARSH: “It’s about the unity (between fans and players), really,” he said. “You know, in other places, you have the fans that come out, for sure. They’re loud, for sure. But here, it’s like passion, love and die for it. And I love that. I absolutely love that about these people. We don’t go anywhere without them.”
WEIRD AND WILD: “I don’t know if they’re going to fit on the plane to Arizona.”
MARSH: “We need them.”
W&W: “Then I think you need to order a lot more planes.”
4. Nick at Nite
When last we left Nick Castellanos, in the final two games of the NLDS, he’d just become the first player in postseason history to crank out back-to-back multi-homer games (two in Game 3, two more in Game 4). But that wasn’t even the Weird and Wild part.
The Weird and Wild part was that the first player to do that in postseason history was (of course) a guy who had never done that himself in any two back-to-back regular-season games.
So that brings us to Monday night, when Castellanos fired off his fifth homer in the last three games. And no, he’s never done that in any three regular-season games in his career, either.
But … one other player in history has done that particular feat in the postseason: Mr. Reginald M. Jackson, for the Yankees, in Games 4, 5 and 6 of the 1977 World Series. So I thought it would be fun to let Castellanos know of his latest historical feat. Here’s how that went.
W&W: “Are you interested in the history you made with that homer?”
CASTELLANOS: “I’m interested in winning seven more games.”
W&W: “Well, I could tell you about it if you’re curious.”
CASTELLANOS: “I’m sure I’ll hear about it from my family when I get home. But thank you.”
W&W: “Any time.”
Not so far down the row of lockers in his clubhouse, Bohm observed this exchange from just far enough away to wonder what went on. So I updated him, then asked: “Are you shocked he didn’t want to know what history he made?”
“That doesn’t shock me one bit,” Bohm said with a laugh. “He’s just in his own world, man. He’s not comparing himself to anybody else. He’s not looking over his shoulder. He’s not trying to be anybody else. He’s just trying to be Nick Castellanos. And that’s not going to change.”
5. Party of Four
Hey, before you move on with the rest of your life, just a few more things!
Wheels and deals – I might have to mention this every time Zack Wheeler heads for the mound in this postseason — but he’s what modern acehood is all about. He has now started Game 1 of four postseason series over the last two years. He has given up a total of three earned runs, which puts him at the top of this list:
LOWEST GAME 1 POSTSEASON ERA OF ALL TIME (Minimum of four postseason Game 1 starts)
PITCHER ERASTARTS
Zack Wheeler
1.04
4
Dallas Keuchel
1.48
4
John Smoltz
1.58
6
Madison Bumgarner
1.73
5
(Source: Baseball Reference / Stathead)
GO DEEPER
Zack Wheeler is in control: Phillies starter has dominated in playoffs — as he savors it all
The kings of Game 1 — Normally, when a team wins Game 1 of a postseason series, that works out well. In the case of the Phillies, it has only led them to within two dozen parades of the Yankees. But that’s not the point right now, because with their win Monday …
• The Phillies have played seven postseason series in the last two years and won Game 1 in all of them.
• All told, they’ve actually won eight Game 1s in a row, if you go back to the 2011 Division Series.
• They’ve also gone 15-1 in their last 16 Game 1s, beginning with Game 1 of the 2008 NLDS.
• They’re up to 29 Game 1s in franchise history. And they’ve won 22 of them! That winning percentage (.759) ranks No. 1 among all teams in the sport that have played at least 20 series. Which is a fairly incomprehensible stat for a franchise that has won as many World Series as the Marlins (two).
• Finally, how ’bout this trivia question: Who’s the last Phillies pitcher to lose a Game 1? Hard to believe it was Roy Halladay, to the Giants (in The Cody Ross Game), in Game 1 of the 2010 NLCS … in Halladay’s next start after his fabled NLDS no-hitter against the Reds.
Schwar-bomb Dept. — Some guys just know how to make an entrance.
• Kyle Schwarber’s first plate appearance in Philadelphia in last year’s NLCS: Leadoff home run off Joe Musgrove (in Game 3 of that series).
• Kyle Schwarber’s first plate appearance in Philadelphia in this year’s NLCS: Leadoff home run off Zac Gallen.
Fits right in, for a guy who seems to save up all his leadoff homers for special occasions. He also has hit leadoff bombs in … his first game ever in Philadelphia as a Phillie (in 2022) … his first game in Philadelphia after the 2022 All-Star break … the last regular-season game he played in Philadelphia in 2022 … the game in which his team clinched a playoff spot last year … Game 5 of the World Series last year … and now this one.
Down D-Back memory lane — And file this away. The Diamondbacks’ last win in an NLCS game was so long ago that …
Randy Johnson (retired for 14 years) beat Tom Glavine (retired for 15 years) …
In Game 5 of the 2001 NLCS, a game in which …
Johnson gave up a home run to Julio Franco … who is now 65 years old!
(Top photo of Bryce Harper celebrating his home run by pretending to blow out birthday candles: Mary DeCicco / MLB Photos via Getty Images)