Phillies: 3 best quotes from Bryce Harper after World Series clincher

Just seven days after his 30th birthday, Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper gave the City of Brotherly Love a belated present on Sunday.

Harper blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to push the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. With the victory, the Phillies will represent the NL in the World Series, which begins on Friday.

This postseason, the former NL MVP is 18-for-43 (.419) with five home runs and 11 RBI as the Phillies have advanced from the sixth seed in the NL bracket to the Fall Classic.

3 best quotes from Bryce Harper after Philadelphia Phillies advance to World Series

Of course, after the World Series-clinching win, Harper had plenty to tell reporters about not only the game, but also the Phillies heading back to the World Series for the first time since 2009. It’s also the first-ever World Series appearance for Harper.

Quote 1: The Philly crowd

Harper was asked about what makes the environment at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park different than other stadiums.

“It’s Philly, man. They hate you,” Harper said. “The other team on the other side, they can’t stand — unless you’re wearing Philly red or you’re a Philly, they don’t like you, and I love that. I love every emotion that they have. “They pay their hard-earned dollar every day to get to the ballpark for us, and they’re doing it right now for us during the playoffs. They just want you to work hard. They don’t care. They just want you to grind for them. They want you to go out there and play the best baseball you can, no matter what.”

Quote 2: All about family

When Harper hit his go-ahead home run on Sunday, there was a look to the Philadelphia dugout that caught a lot of people’s attention.

Now in his fourth season as a member of the Phillies, Harper has embraced the special relationship that exists with Philadelphia fans and their teams. He has also embraced his teammates and the close bonds that have formed on this October journey.

“I hit the ball, and I just looked at my dugout and kind of it’s for all of them,” Harper said. “It’s for this whole team. It’s for this whole organization. We haven’t been here for a long time. It’s for every single fan that’s here now and that isn’t here. It’s for all of them no matter — like I said, where you came from, who you are, you’ve got Phils on your chest, you’re family. I really believe that. That’s from right here. “I feel that each day when I walk into the ballpark, and I just — that’s it, man. Everybody that has Phillies on their chest is family, man.”