Bryce Harper called Major League Baseball’s bluff, used Phillie Phanatic custom bat during London Series
Bryce Harper called Major League Baseball’s bluff over the weekend in London, using a custom baseball bat that featured the Phillie Phanatic dressed in a signature Beefeater Guard outfit.
Harper stepped up to the plate in the first inning of Saturday’s game in London against the New York Mets with one of the unique baseball bats designed and produced by Victus Sports, located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
His bat featured the Phillie Phanatic dressed up as a member of the Royal Guard, better known as a Beefeater.
Victus Sports dropped insane London-themed baseball bats for the Phillies series this weekend >>
Bryce Harper Royal Guard Custom Baseball Bat
Harper absolutely hammered a home run with the bat, then went viral for his “soccer celebration” after
WATCH: Bryce Harper hits epic soccer celebration after 4th inning home run >>
The only issue with the bat is that Major League Baseball didn’t give players permission to use it. Typically they refrain from letting players use custom baseball bats that fall outside their guidelines unless they are approved first.
Rule 3.02 (d) of the MLB rulebook states “no colored bats may be used in a professional game unless approved by the Rules Committee,” — but rules are meant to be broken, right?
A perfect example of approval came last year during the Little League Classic in which Bryson Stott used a custom bat from Victus Sports that was designed to look like a pencil. According to reports, that bat was approved to be used in the game.
Bryson Stott Pencil Custom Baseball Bat
This wasn’t the first time Harper defied the rules of Major League Baseball by using an unapproved custom bat. When he was with the Washington Nationals, Harper stepped up to the plate with a July 4th custom bat, colored red, white and blue, and decorated with the stars and stripes and a silhouette of the Washington skyline, made by Chandler Bats.
In typical Bryce Harper fashion, he then homered off San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner. He wasn’t fined for using the bat but a year later, he attempted to rock an American Flag baseball bat featuring the Statue of Liberty – designed by Victus Sports which was shot down by league offices.
In response, Bryce Harper posted this picture on Instagram
“One day I hope players in the @MLB can express the way they feel and give thanks to everybody that makes our lives possible and safe every single day through bats or cleats or anything to that point,” Harper wrote. “And no I will not be using this bat today to respect the rules of @MLB!”
Heading into the London Series, Harper basically told everyone that he would be using a custom baseball bat, even if he didn’t get permission from Major League Baseball – basically calling their bluff about a potential fine in saying he would “see if he got a letter about it.”
Note: Earlier this season, Harper was pictured wearing one of the 2023 versions of the Phillies uniform earlier this season, which I considered to be a “uniform uprising” against Fanatics and MLB for the god awful new versions in 2024 – which pretty much went unnoticed outside of a few articles and pictures on social media.
While it remains unclear if it an attempt to push back on the uniforms just like the baseball bats, Harper clearly doesn’t care for the the MLB rulebook.
Sure, the London Series is supposed to be a premiere event for Major League Baseball – a league that has struggled in the marketing department – but something tells me they’ll let Bryce Harper slide on this one too.
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A King’s Guard is a royal foot soldier and an active serviceman. A Beefeater is a retired serviceman at the Tower of London. The Phanatic was wearing the King’s Guard uniform.
Gotcha – thanks for the clarification!
MLB should embrace the exposure of the Harper spectacle, especially in light of their overall lack of interest in capitalizing on the event on gamedays. Saturday’s “pregame” featured a different pair of teams (not playing in London). There really were no pre or post-game shows either day. There was very little pomp and circumstance featured, i.e. the National Anthem(s). An NFL game featuring two second-tier franchises would have been a 6 hour TV spectacle. Shame on MLB, Fox Sports, and ESPN for the lackluster coverage.
Couldn’t agree more!