Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper and the brightest stars in baseball today converged at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas Tuesday night for the 2024 edition of the MLB All-Star Game. Harper and the National League fell prey to the American League, 5-3, but everyone can still appreciate the event.
For Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, part of the fun was being around greatness, and he did not hide his thoughts on the player that impressed him the most during the All-Star Game.
“Bryce Harper stood out to me,” Ohtani said of the Phillies star first baseman through an interpreter following the contest (h/t Jeff Skversky).
Ohtani is too humble to say it, but he was, statistically speaking, the best hitter for the National League in the All-Star Game. He put the NL on the board first with a three-run home run in the third inning that drove Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Jurickson Profar of the San Diego Padres home in the third inning. That was pretty much it for the NL, as they were not able to add any more to their offensive production the rest of the way.
Ohtani went 1-for-2 with three RBIs and a run plus a walk. And with his home run against the American League, Ohtani just became the first player ever in the history of the big leagues to have a pitching win and a home run in an All-Star Game career (h/t OptaSTATS).
