The Philadelphia Phillies are gearing up to host All-Star week at their home ballpark, Citizens Bank Park, with plenty of familiar faces participating in the festivities.
Six All-Stars will represent the Phillies, including Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Jhoan Duran, Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, and Bryce Harper. Harper is one of the leaders and ambassadors for the Phillies organization, and they want him involved in as many of the All-Star weekend events as possible.
The organization appears to be getting its wish as Harper is now poised to join the Home Run Derby. He announced his entry on Instagram, and now Harper joins names such as Schwaber, Junior Caminero, Jordan Walker, Wilson Contreras, Ben Rice, Munetaka Murakami and Jac Cagliaone in the Derby. An event that Harper knows how to win.
History Repeats
Bryce Harper has only one speed: go full force. Whether it’s stretching a single into a double, diving for a ball in the field, or getting a clutch hit, Harper loves putting on a show. Harper, nicknamed “The Showman,” did just that in the 2018 Home Run Derby, when, as a member of the Washington Nationals and in his home ballpark, he won the whole thing, defeating Kyle Schwarber in the finals.
In 2026, history could repeat itself with Harper once again competing against Schwarber in the Home Run Derby in his home ballpark, Citizens Bank Park. However, instead of his father, Ron, throwing to him, it will be the Los Angeles Dodgers’ third-base coach, Dino Ebel.
Ebel threw to Schwarber during the tie-breaking home run swing-off at the 2025 All-Star Game in Atlanta, where Schwarber went three-for-three to win the game and the All-Star Game MVP for the NL. Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, in his July 9 article, wrote about what Harper was looking for in a pitcher for the Derby.
“I’m super comfortable with my dad throwing to me for my whole life, “Harper said. “That’s a big thing. You can’t just pick somebody random to go out there. … I’m not going to do something if I’m going to have a half-mentality towards it, because I’m worried about the pitcher, or I’m worried about what’s going to happen, or anything else. If I’m going to do it, I want to be full bore and very confident in winning it.”
With his pitcher in place, Harper makes it clear that he’s not just there to participate but to win, even if he’s not enthusiastic about the Derby’s current format.
Format Change
The Home Run Derby is different from the last time Bryce Harper participated. When Harper won in 2018, it was in a timed format, and this year, MLB is testing a new format. There are still eight hitters, but the first round gives each hitter 20 swings. The swing cap drops to 15 in the semifinals and stays there for the final. While this will give the hitters more time between swings, Harper isn’t a fan, as Cole Weintraub of NBC Sports Philadelphia wrote about in his July 8 article.
“I don’t like it,” Harper said. “I’m more of a time guy.”
Harper said the timed format gives hitters a better chance to find a rhythm.
“It takes you time to kind of get into the swing of things,” Harper said. “That’s why the pitcher is so important in a situation like this.”
No matter the format, Harper hopes to put on a show and win for their hometown star, who has given the fans plenty to cheer about in the first half of the season.
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