CLEARWATER, Fla. — As the news broke on Thursday that free-agent rightfielder Bryce Harper had reportedly signed the most lucrative contract in American sports history, and as fans at the Phillies’ spring training ballpark cheered and social media erupted, Harper’s new teammates barely looked up from their Ping-Pong game.
The starters in that day’s split-squad affair against the Orioles had trotted off the field after the bottom of the fourth inning, where they encountered pitchers Aaron Nola and Zach Eflin locked in battle. Rightfielder Trevor Plouffe sat at his locker, picked up his phone and saw the tweet: Harper to the Phillies, for 13 years and $330 million.