"My favorite was the time we met with Magic Johnson and Dodgers" - When Bryce Harper slammed media for spreading false rumors about his Free Agency

After the 2018 season came to a close, Bryce Harper became a free agent. The 2012 Rookie of the Year became a player that nearly every team in the league wanted a piece of.

All eyes were on him the entirety of the offseason. Every move he made was watched under a microscope and there seemed to be a new rumor regarding him daily.

While free agency was fun at first, Harper was quickly over it. From all the meetings and the rumors, it took its toll on the slugger, via ESPN's Tim Keown.

"It was fun to go through the meetings and feel wanted, but it was something I'll happily never go through again," said Bryce Harper.

Harper loved hearing all the pitches from various teams and feeling wanted, but it became too much. He was the story of the offseason, and anything he did became headlines, whether it was true or not.

"My favorite was the time we met with Magic Johnson and the Dodgers. That was a good one. We never met with him," said Harper.

Harper remembered the time rumors circulated that he met with Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, none of that ever happened.

Instead, Harper met with the Philadelphia Phillies where the two sides laid out their game plans. When it was all said and done, Harper agreed to a 13-year, $330 million contract.

Bryce Harper pushed back when the league thought about implementing a pitch clock

Philadelphia Phillies - Bryce Harper (Photo via IMAGN)

Ahead of the 2019 season, rumors were beginning to spin that the league was looking to implement a pitch clock. They wanted to speed up the game in hopes of attracting new fans.

While some were all for it, there were plenty of players punishing back on the idea. Pitchers were used to their pace of play and so were hitters. They did not want to change how they played the game for their entire career, Bryce Harper included.

"Pitch clocks and all that? If you don't want to come to a baseball game, don't come. We're not a timed sport" said Harper.

Harper did not want to see his sport follow in the footsteps of other professional sports. One thing that made baseball stand out from most other sports was there was not a clock that dictated the game.

Unfortunately, Harper and many others would not get their wish. The league implemented the pitch clock ahead of the 2023 season, which has been met with both criticism and elation.