The Philadelphia Phillies had their backs against the wall in Game 2 of the NLWC series against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. That was before Drake Baldwin's double glanced off Bryce Harper's glove in the seventh inning, giving the Braves a 2-1 lead. Matt Olson added a sacrifice fly, and the Phillies suddenly trailed 3-1 in a must-win game after dropping the opener 5-3.
However, just minutes after Harper's blunder, Kyle Schwarber responded with a home run to start the eighth inning, followed by another homer from Harper himself to tie the game 3-3. It was the definition of resilience from Harper, who shrugged off the mishap and not only made up for what happened minutes earlier, but also helped inject life into the Phillies' offense when it was desperately
needed.
The Phillies overcame the 3-1 deficit entirely on a 10th-inning homer by Alec Bohm, leading to a 4-3 win and extending the series to Game 3 in the opening round of the 2026 MLB Playoffs. There was no shortage of storylines, but what Harper said after the game about his mindset following the play that led to two Braves runs really stood out.
Harper was asked how he was able to "flush" that moment and move forward immediately to the next at-bat, and he gave an incredible answer.
"I'll tell you what, I was thinking about Krew, my son," Harper said. "You know, what I would say to him in that situation. You know, I think it's a learning situation, not for myself, but everybody else as well. I think you try to flush it as quick as possible, and, man, I grew up playing in a lot of big games. And I've said it in the past about the postseason, and, you know, playing huge games that people are counting on you from the time you were 10 years old all the way until now now. I don't think people understand what that feels like or looks like.
...I've been through a lot of situations to get me to this point. You make a play like that, and I'm hearing it out there, obviously. But how quickly can I turn the page and just get past that moment knowing that I'm still coming up to plate to hit? Knowing that in the postseason, it doesn't matter what you did the at-bat before, the inning before. It's what you do in that moment. So, for me, everybody's going to make mistakes at some point, but it's how you come through in the next situation..." Harper continued.
Bryce Harper thought about his son Krew and "what [he] would say to him in that situation" as he turned the page on the misplay in right field. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/rBDAYQ6uGE
— The Phillies Show (@ThePhilliesShow) September 30, 2026
Harper continued by explaining that the "mindset" that's put onto kids these days in sports about having to come through in big moments and "be great," but explained that there's much more to it than that.
"I think there's a mindset, especially for kids nowadays. Parents and coaches put so much on kids these days to have to come through and be great. But for me, it's how can you learn from each situation that you're in to come out great in the next one," he added.
From top to bottom, Harper's answer was impressive. He looked at it from the bigger picture, and specifically how he'd approach it as a parent. That mindset and ability to overcome adversity seem to go hand in hand with the result we saw from Harper on Wednesday, and his candid response to how it played out is worth remembering.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Bryce Harper's comments on near-catastrophic blunder vs. Braves says everything about him
