Harper tips cap to Mike Schmidt

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

If you know Bryce Harper, then you know he appreciates baseball history.

He certainly appreciates Michael Jack Schmidt.

Harper tipped his cap to Schmidt on the cover of the Phillies’ 2022 media guide. You see, after Schmidt won his third NL MVP Award in 1986, he appeared on the ‘87 media guide in a black tuxedo with a red bowtie and red cummerbund. He stood in front of a red pinstripe backdrop, next to his MVP trophy and his Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards.

Harper recreated the look 35 years later. He got the tux, red bowtie and red cummerbund. The Phillies got him the red pinstripe backdrop, and he stood next to his MVP trophy, Hank Aaron Award, Silver Slugger and All-MLB First Team trophy.

“Knowing how Schmitty is, knowing how he played, knowing how much the fans love him, I just thought it’d be cool,” Harper said this week. “Everybody in Philadelphia who loves baseball loves Mike Schmidt. I think some things in the game are forgotten and he’s a player who shouldn’t be. So, we just ordered a tux. I got the cummerbund. I’ve never worn a cummerbund before. I never went to the prom or anything. But I just thought it was cool to reminisce on the old and think about the new, as well.”

Harper’s knowledge of baseball history is legit. Put it this way, if you mentioned Catfish Hunter to him, he would know it’s a baseball player and not an offseason activity.

“It’s just because they did it before us,” Harper said. “That’s why we’re here, right? That’s why we’re playing this game. I just appreciate Schmidt. You hear it every time they announce him: the greatest third baseman of all time -- Mike Schmidt. And you can actually say that. This guy was an incredible hitter. He was an incredible third baseman. It was something I really wanted to do.

“I mean, there are kids that I know who are 8, 9 years old that have no idea who Ken Griffey Jr. is. That’s crazy. There’s so much history in this game that the kids don’t know about, and they should know about it. I get that it’s not their era, but they should know that.”

Maybe some kid will see Harper on the cover, then open the media guide and see Schmidt. Maybe he or she will connect the dots between the two and learn something about Phillies history.

This is the second time Harper and Schmidt have connected in the past few months. Schmidt announced Harper’s name live on MLB Network in November, when he learned he won his second NL MVP Award. Schmidt raised a glass of champagne in that unscripted moment.

“That was super special for me,” Harper said. “He did it for so long in a Phillies uniform, a three-time MVP, World Series champion. I actually gave him a big handshake and hug when I saw him before he threw out the first pitch a couple weeks ago [for the Grapefruit League home opener]. I told him, ‘Thank you for that.’ Because after he made the announcement, they panned away from him and cut to me and they didn’t go back. I wasn’t able to say thanks.”

In a way, Harper said thanks again with the ’22 cover.