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Not many players mean as much to their team as Bryce Harper does to the Philadelphia Phillies. He's the team's captain, and the squad moves as he does. That's why it was unfortunate when he had to get Tommy John surgery in the offseason. This particular type of surgery is done to repair the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL).
Harper is a workhorse and a true competitor. That's why he was able to return within 160 days, which is rarely seen when baseball players undergo Tommy John surgery. After a few games of getting his timing back, Harper launched his first home run on Saturday.
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It was a no-doubter off the bat of Harper. It's safe to say he hasn't lost any power at the plate with how far he launched that ball. His swing is still as smooth as ever.
Harper's return for the Phillies couldn't come at a better time. Philadelphia has struggled to start the season and could use a sparkplug to get the team competitive once again.
"That didn't take long. WELCOME BACK BRYCE" one fan tweeted.
"Baseball is more fun when he is playing" another fan tweeted.
Philadelphia Phillies fans couldn't be more excited to see Bryce Harper blasting opposite-field home runs again. If this is how he looks early on, the league should be on notice.
The team would lose the game to the Boston Red Sox 7-4, but at least fans have Harper back to hitting homers.
Can Bryce Harper's return motivate some of these other players?
Bryce Harper's return is surely going to help the Phillies get back on track. He struggled in his debut on Tuesday, going 0-4 but turned it around the next day by going 3-3.
Harper's leadership should help the team going forward. Philadelphia should not be as bad as they have shown to be so far this season. They have a lineup full of All-Stars.
They have one of the best shortstops in all of baseball with Trea Turner. They have tons of power at the plate with players like Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, and J.T. Realmuto.
Schwarber has been struggling to get it going this season. The power is still there; he has seven home runs on the season, but he's hitting .183. He's gone four consecutive games while failing to get a hit.
He'll have to get it going if the Phillies want to look more like the team that went to the World Series last season.
