Bryce Harper’s rehab start brings electric atmosphere to Allentown
A sold-out crowd of 10,100 fans watched Harper reach base four times and crush two home runs.
When Bryce Harper took his first AAA at-bat since 2012, all of Coca-Cola Park came to a standstill.
The sold-out crowd of 10,100 fans — some still trickling in and rushing to their seats — stood and cheered as the 2021 National League MVP came to the plate.
In the team store, workers took a break from frantically printing Lehigh Valley IronPigs t-shirts with Harper’s name and the number four on the back to take a peek from the concourse. There wasn’t anybody in the store for those few minutes anyway, despite an incredibly busy night.
Media members, who crowded the concourse, the dugout and overflowed from the press box into nearby suites, pointed their cameras and cell phones toward home plate.
Everyone wanted to see something exciting in Harper’s first at-bat against competitive pitching since June 25.
And he delivered.
With a 2–2 count, Harper crushed a solo home run 375 feet to right-center field, halfway up a wall of advertisements behind the concourse. Fans erupted as he stoically circled the bases before celebrating with his teammates.
And in his fifth and final at-bat of the night, Harper delivered an encore. He took the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the eighth inning and sent it 370 feet to left field, this time for a three-run shot.
Starting as the designated hitter, Harper finished with two walks, a hard groundout and two homers.
“It feels good,” Harper said after the game. “I think any time you go out there and you’re able to put the bat on the ball, have good at-bats, see pitches and compete at a high level, it’s always good.”
Harper’s rehab was the centerpoint of an electric atmosphere in Allentown.
Gates opened at 5:30 for the 7:05 game. By 5:45, the more than 200 pre-made Harper shirts had sold out. Each shirt and jersey had to be made fresh on an actual press in the store.
Team store employee Braeden Keith and Director of Merchandise Mike Luciano spent the game printing more shirts and jerseys with 2,000 Harper nameplates in the IronPigs’ font. Luciano used his personal cell phone number to text fans when their shirts were ready. The estimated wait time by the third inning was two hours.
Laurel Kearney, another team store employee, spent four hours making the 200 shirts ahead of time. It takes about 30 seconds for the name and number to be fully pressed on. She planned to arrive more than five hours early on Wednesday to print even more ahead of the game.
“We had the shirts on a table out there and people were just grabbing them right when they came in,” Keith said. “It was crazy.”
A crowd, including many kids wearing №3 jerseys, lined up at the IronPigs tunnel when gates opened to catch a glimpse of Harper. Dozens of cameras lined the field as Bryce jogged out to applause.
Rachel Lyle, who lives in the Allentown area, decided to ditch plans at home to bring her son, Blake, to the game for his 10th birthday. They dealt with some re-sell market difficulties but were determined to find tickets.
Blake, a New York sports fan, said Harper is his favorite player. He wanted to see Harper do one thing for his birthday.
“Hit a home run,” Blake said.
Nick Sheerin, 41, came down to Allentown from Scranton with his dad and younger brother, a shorter trip than driving to see Harper in Philadelphia. He bought his tickets last week before the start was officially announced.
“It was hoping he wouldn’t start on Wednesday and I’d have the tickets too early,” Sheeran said. “But I got them just in time.”
Samantha and John Ruppert were two of the fans who booed Gwinnett Stripers pitcher Jared Schuster when Harper walked in his second at-bat. They live just around the corner from Coca-Cola Park but were running late due to work when Harper took his first at-bat.
“We heard the screaming and then I turned on the radio,” Samantha said.
“As soon as we were in the traffic line, I knew it was going to happen,” John said. “I mean, he’s the best player to ever step foot on this field. I guarantee he’s going to hit two or three more this week.”
He was right on. Very few fans went home before Harper’s opposite-field homer in his final at-bat of the night, which once again brought the enthusiastic crowd to its feet.
“It was really cool,” Harper said. “I think the last time I was here was in 2012, so it was good to be back. … The fans were great, I thought the ballpark was awesome and the atmosphere was great. It was a lot of fun.”
The players wore “IronMutts” jerseys as part of a promotional night to support local animal shelters. Fans helped adopt 44 dogs during the game and the on-field jerseys were raffled off aftter the game. Harper’s went for $2,600 to support IronPigs Charities and the Animal Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley.
For Harper, the focus this week will be on his health and he continues to see competitive pitching and run the bases for the first time in two months. He said after the game that his hand felt good but he’ll need to monitor how he feels the mornings after games.
For the fans, like Jordan and Jake Friedman and their seven-week-old baby Juliette, this week is about showing up to support Harper and enjoying the exciting atmosphere at IronPigs games.
“I was almost against bringing [Juliette] to a game this early,” Jake said. “But when is Bryce Harper going to be in Allentown again?”
— Beyond the Bell contributor Graham Foley
