Anyone who’s watched a second of Phillies baseball over the last three years knows that Kyle Schwarber is the leader in the clubhouse.
But — and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing — no one else has really cemented himself as the undisputed second-in-command. Perhaps that’s by design.
Bryce Harper, the face of the franchise but not exactly the most vocal figure on the roster, gave an interesting answer when asked on SportsRadio 94 WIP Thursday who he considers the team’s leaders.
“I think everybody kinda has their role,” Harper said. “And I think that’s the big thing about our team, is we all look in the mirror each day and we understand what our roles are. Nobody tries to do more than what they can.”
Now, it should be noted that Harper began his answer by talking about Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner specifically. But for the last two, much of it centered on their roles as the leader of the pitching staff and captain of the infield, respectively — less so as a central figurehead in the clubhouse for the 26-man roster at large.
And that, for this team, makes plenty of sense. There’s Johan Rojas, Orion Kerkering, Weston Wilson and a few other contributors who are just getting their feet wet, but by and large, the Phillies are a team of veterans who have been in the league for a while, made a lot of money doing so and mostly follow their own routine. After the intensity of the Joe Girardi era and the extremely hands-on approach of Gabe Kapler, it’s why a relatively hands-off manager in Rob Thomson has made a lot of sense for this particular group.
“I think guys do such a good job of just being themselves, understanding what they can do or what they can bring to our team,” Harper said. “And I think that’s what makes us really good.”
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