Atta boy, Harper: Why Orlando Arcia will never live down his playoff bulletin-board material
![Oct 11, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) hits a solo home run during the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves in game three of the NLDS for the 2023 MLB playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Oct 11, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) hits a solo home run during the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves in game three of the NLDS for the 2023 MLB playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3018,h_1697,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/229/01j5rnak5y2bwm3w07z9.jpg)
"Atta boy Harper!"
A three word horror story that lives on inside of the Atlanta Braves clubhouse.
After Bryce Harper made a baserunning error that cost the Philadelphia Phillies a game in the 2023 postseason, these were the three words that were heard being screamed by the Braves All-Star shortstop, Orlando Arcia.
Arcia and the Braves were on top of the world, having just topped the Phillies as they were looking to take the series and send their division rivals home.
But for the Braves, this was the sole game that they would win in the 2023 postseason.
In poetic fashion, Harper dominated the rest of the series while Arcia hit below .200. In this series, Harper slashed .462/.611/1.154 with more home runs than Arcia had hits. That 1.154 number is his slugging percentage, not his OPS, by the way. Arcia slashed a horrendous .154/.214/.154 in the four-game series.
The best revenge came in game three, less than 24 hours after Arcia had yelled those haunting three words. Harper homered and proceeded to stare down Arcia for half his trip around the bases.
Bryce “Atta Boy” Harper w/ his 2nd home run of the game & stare down of Orlando Arcia.
— Bhlademyst (@bhlademyst) October 11, 2023
pic.twitter.com/oNY9h175vX
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Atta boy Harper: Bryce Harper has dominated the Braves for 12 years
Arcia should have known better than to poke the bear that is Bryce Harper. Harper dominating the Braves isn't something that started after Arcia yelled those words to his clubhouse. The Phillies superstar has been dominating the Braves for over a decade now.
Across his Hall-of-Fame career, Harper has played the Braves 185 times, just over a full MLB season for reference.
In that time, he's slashed .260/.381/.511 with 44 home runs and over 100 RBI. He's hit more home runs against the Braves than he has any other team in the league.
Now, the year after these two All-Stars had this postseason beef, Harper has dominated and Arcia has struggled tremendously. Harper is slashing .278/.370/.533 as he was named to his eighth All-Star team while Arcia is slashing .224/.271/.348 while many are calling for the Braves to replace him.
Arcia is never going to live this down, even though he wasn't saying it directly to Harper. He was screaming it to his own clubhouse, but it got back to the Phillies superstar and Harper did the talking with his bat rather than his mouth.
Atta boy Arcia!
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