Bryce Harper sinks more and more on the couch, as if he were a handful of loose coins.The sky on the outskirts of this luxury condominium overlooking the sea located somewhere near Clearwater, Florida, is the color of faded jeans.A few feet away from the windows, the pelicans interrupt their landslides when collecting their wings and release their bodies, kamikaze style, towards the bay.

Harper considers that today is the first day in which he can relax and reflect on the enormity of what has happened in his life in recent months.His wife Kayla sits next to him and there is a feeling of stunning in the room, as if a large storm had attacked the site and nobody managed to recover enough energy to make an inventory.It would be strange to suggest that they need to recover, considered that the story that has revolved around Harper in recent weeks is based on the central idea that he has done so little: he did not sign a free agent contract, he did not meet with team after teamAfter team, it did not reach spring training until the first day of March.Like those birds that wore outside the window, Harper floated freely for a long time to slide upside down in the direction of a contract for 13 years and $ 330 million with Philadelphia Phillies.

Although now, he has done something, and now that his Phillies uniform hangs in his dressingIn the bad, without the possibility of exchanges and without a termination clause), it feels like this one for the great reflections, trying to fight with the strong deeper questions and meanings for a 26 -year -old boy who has just taken the greatDecision of a lifetime.

This moment was predicted, as is obvious.When Bryce was 9 years old, he told his father Ron, that he would be first selected from the draft.He left high school after the second year and played a year in a pre -University so that his prophecy came true.Since he was promoted by the Washington Nationals at age 19, today was seen as an already anticipated conclusion: Bryce Harper, free agent at age 26, would demand and receive the most lucrative contract in the history of professional sport in states in statesJoined.

"During the seven years I spent in Washington, everyone was talking about the fact that I would end elsewhere," Harper told Espn The Magazine in his first in -depth interview since his hiring by the Phillies."From the day I signed, they said: 'He will go to the Yankees';.I didn't want to hear it.I was in that city and wanted to be in that city.Therefore, I am simply so happy that I can sit here and now and say that I can play until I turn 39 and not have someone sitting around the corner saying: 'Then, this other site will go' ".

Washington, where Harper became a more valuable player, rookie of the year and there on six opportunities, made an offer for 10 years and $ 300 million last October."I grew up in front of those fans and that city and enjoyed every minute there," says Harper."However, I didn't know if I fit into their plans.Approximately $ 100 million in that contract were deferred until I turned 65 ".Take a pause and raise your hands to heaven in expression of disbelief.Few people can afford to reject a retirement fund for $ 100 million;Bryce is one of them."I thought: 'What does that do for me? What can that do for my family?".

From there, the low season became strange.In the midst of the silence of winter meetings in their native land of Las Vegas, from the Christmas holidays to the beginning of spring training, nothing happened.It was clear from the beginning that a majority of teams (those who did not see the need or simply, they didn't care) would let it pass.However, inertia was amazing.One of next year's main free agents, Nolan Arenado, signed a contract before Harper.

After all, only six teams held meetings with Harper and three of them (Phillies, Dodgers and Giants) remained relevant until the end of February.But in a parallel world full of oddities, Harper's fame grew.The longer it, its history transcended beyond the world of sport.Can you believe that a player rejected an offer of $ 300 million? The saga reached its culminating point worthy of Bryce on February 26, when the Twitter account of the musical group Smash Mouth generated headlines with a gossip without foundation related to an alleged fractureWithin the Giants Management.The owners fully agreed, according to Smash Mouth, but the new president of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi, was not very convinced.Amazingly, people with direct knowledge of the negotiations said that this tweet caused Zaidi to denied Smash Mouth (joking half) during the last face -to -face meeting between the organization and Harper.

Good Morning I Have Woken Up In Very Vry Bad Ear Pain.Yay me

— The Lady of Poison and Gloom Thu May 27 10:37:50 +0000 2021

It was fun to go to those meetings and feel loved, "says Harper," but I would feel happy not to do it again ".

He tried to make this a normal low season: training, pilates twice a week with Kayla, batting practice with his father.Added an additional goal: staying away from the "news".

Mostly, anyway.Bryce laughs and states: "Sometimes, I saw my phone and said: 'We are going to check: What are today's hot rumors?'".

Kayla adds: "Oh, do you remember that when we bought an apartment in New York and we were going to live in him with three more guys? That was my favorite".

"My favorite was the one who said we met on one occasion with Magic Johnson and the Dodgers," says Bryce."That was good.We never met with him ".

"It was a disappointment that I did not know him," says Kayla, "although at least, everyone thought I did.".

EL ARMA es un rifle Winchester, modelo 94 Golden Spike Commemorative 30-30, nunca usado, uno de 69,182 producido en 1969.It was a gift for Ron Harper of his mother, who had earned it in a promotion in the food supply chain in which he worked.Ron kept him in the family home in Las Vegas until Bryce broke an aluminum bat when he was 13 years old.Bryce had already been identified then as a prodigy.There was a little less than a year before the super agent Scott Boras arrived in the city to be amazed, in person, the size of the boy's forearms.There were two years before Bryce beat a 570 -foot away homer in his rookie year in high school.