Philadelphia Phillies star first baseman Bryce Harper lost the World Baseball Classic with Team USA, and he's using it as motivation ahead of MLB Opening Day.
Team USA's bats went cold in the team's last two games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, except for Bryce Harper's.
In their 3-2 loss to Venezuela in the final, the Philadelphia Phillies' star first baseman had two of Team USA's three total hits — a single in the sixth inning and a game-tying two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth. After Venezuela's Eugenio Suárez knocked in the game-winning run in the top of the ninth, Harper came up just short of glory yet again in his illustrious career.
After rejoining the Phillies this week, Harper's eyes are set on winning his first World Series in 2026.
"We have been so close as a team," Harper said, according to NBC Philadelphia's John Clark. "I’ve been so close as an individual player. Obviously, that’s the remaining thing on the mantle."
The eight-time All-Star and two-time National League MVP continued, "Winning a gold medal in the WBC would have been incredible, but also, winning a World Series trophy is what you play for, what you dream for. Hopefully, looking forward to doing that this year."
Last season, the Phillies lost 3-1 to the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. Game 4 ended in devastating fashion for Philly, as pitcher Orion Kerkering made an ill-advised throw to the plate. His error led to the Dodgers scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the 11th.
Since Harper signed with the Phillies in 2019, every season has ended in some degree of heartbreak — the worst, of course, being losing the 2022 World Series to the Houston Astros in six games. Philadelphia lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in seven games in the 2023 National League Championship Series and has lost in the NLDS in each of the last two years.
Harper and the Phillies will begin their quest to get over the hump when they host the Texas Rangers for their Opening Day on March 26.