When Bryce Harper steps into the batter’s box at Dodger Stadium this week, he’ll perform roughly the same bat-tapping ritual that he did when he made his major league debut in Los Angeles four years ago. Here’s how Harper explained the ritual, which dates to his one year at the College of Southern Nevada, in 2012:
“I think once I got into college, I had that little routine of what I do in the box,” Harper said. “I get in, dig in, scrape the dirt. Then I touch out, touch in, then touch out again. Then I hit the front of my foot, like my big toe, pretty much. Then I go up [with the bat], look at the pitcher and come back. It actually was a little bit longer in college, but I shortened it up. I don’t know how it started. There’s no real reason for it; it’s just something I’ve always done, something I’m comfortable with.”
Harper’s routine is featured in a new MLB commercial that makes its over-the-air debut Monday during ESPN’s broadcast of the Nationals-Dodgers game.
#THIS. Bryce Ritual.https://t.co/FCQVhK8I1y
— MLB (@MLB) June 20, 2016
The spot, which will also run on Fox, FS1, TBS and MLB Network this season, is MLB’s second national commercial featuring Harper this year. You may recall the one in which Harper gave members of a youth baseball team stylish haircuts in an effort to help them snap a losing streak.
