Philadelphia Phillies: Bryce Harper honors Roy Halladay
By Ben Fadden
New Phillie Bryce Harper wore #34 as a Washington National but is now wearing #3 for the Philadelphia Phillies.
In his introductory news conference on Saturday in Clearwater, Florida for the first time Bryce Harper put on his new Philadelphia Phillies jersey, but it had a new number. Number three.
When asked why the number change he said it was to honor Roy Halladay. “I thought Roy Halladay should be the last one to wear it. He’s somebody in this game that’s greater than a lot of guys who ever played it. A Hall of Famer. Somebody who played the game the right way, was a great person, and was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met…. For me, it’s Roy Halladay.”
The late great Roy Halladay will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the summer, and will probably have his jersey retired by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Halladay played for the Phillies from 2010-2013, winning the Cy Young award in his first season in Philadelphia.
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He sadly past away in November 2017 when a plane he was piloting crashed.
Bryce Harper, on the other hand, would have probably picked #7 as his second choice as his favorite player of all time is Mickey Mantle, but current third basemen Maikel Franco is wearing the number.
Harper said in his press conference that “Maikel Franco, he wore 7. And he’s a teammate of mine. I didn’t want to ask for the number,” Harper added, “I don’t know if that has any significance to him being No. 7, but I didn’t want to find out. He’s No. 7 on the Phillies and he should be able to wear that number every single day.”
He chose number 3 because it ran in the family. His brother and his father both wore the number during their high school playing days, so he wanted to continue the tradition.
Next. Imagining Trout and Harper on Phillies. dark
Bryce Harper should be saluted for his respect for Roy Halladay and his current teammate Maikel Franco.