PHILADELPHIA — Kevin Long was Bryce Harper’s hitting coach in Washington when Harper was a young player and has the same role now with the Phillies, where Harper is a veteran in his 11th season.
And Long, the former Yankee hitting coach, believes what many others do: Harper would have been excellent as a Yankee.
“He would have thrived there,’’ Long said Thursday before the Phillies took on the Astros in Game 5 of the World Series at Citizens Bank Park.
“I just know the bigger the stage, it seems like he’s up for it and he’s game-on,’’ Long said.
Harper was a force in the first three rounds of the postseason for the Phillies, hitting well against the Cardinals in the wild-card series before crushing the Braves, when he went 8-for-16 with three doubles and a pair of homers.
And he was named NLCS MVP after going 8-for-20, again with three doubles and two homers in the Phillies’ win against San Diego.
He hasn’t hit as well in the World Series, entering Thursday 3-for-14 with a homer, but he’s produced at a high level since signing his 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies before the 2019 season.
Through it all, Long said he’s taken on the lofty expectations that come with that kind of contract and in a notoriously tough town like Philadelphia.
“These guys can be ruthless,’’ Long said of Philadelphia fans. “It doesn’t bother him. He embraces it.”
Long, who was the hitting coach on both sides of town in New York, spending 2007-14 in The Bronx and 2015-17 with the Mets, has no doubt Harper was built for that atmosphere.
The Yankees opted not to pursue Harper when he was a free agent, having already taken on Giancarlo Stanton’s contract from the Marlins.
But Harper’s power and lefty-swing seem made for the short porch in right field at the Stadium.
More than that, though, Long thinks Harper’s mentality would have been a fit there.
“I think he’d embrace New York, as well, and everything that goes with it,’’ Long said. “Whether it’s the spotlight, the pressure, it all makes him play even better.”
Long worked with Harper in Washington after Long left the Mets in 2017 and was still with the Nationals in 2019 — after Harper left for the Phillies — when Washington won the World Series.
This is Long’s first year with the Phillies, and like his other stops, he’s again in the World Series, this time with Harper.
Long arrived in Philadelphia after his contract expired in Washington and he was given permission to pursue another job. Long ended up reuniting with former Yankee manager Joe Girardi, who was fired in June after a 22-29 start and replaced by bench coach Rob Thomson, who also coached alongside Long in The Bronx.
Harper has hit well regardless of who his hitting coach has been, but his familiarity with Long hasn’t hurt, as Harper plays while dealing with the effects of the fractured left thumb that cost him two months after he was hit by a pitch in San Diego on June 25.
He returned in August and has led the Phillies’ offense since.
“Even though he’d be great in New York, I’m glad he’s here,’’ Long said. “I’m glad he’s in Philly. But I’m confident he would have been great in New York.”