Jake Arrieta, Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Jake Arrieta vs. Bryce Harper put on a show in this simulated at-bat.
The 2020 MLB season is already weird, so get ready to see some stuff you’ve never seen before.
With an unprecedented 60-game season rapidly approaching, big league clubs have reconvened at their home ballparks to being a second Spring Training in early July. Teammates are facing teammates on the mound and in the batter’s box. If you want proof, check out this epic battle between Philadelphia Phillies teammates Jake Arrieta and Bryce Harper.
Arrieta takes, takes and takes before offering up the fattest meatball you’ll ever see on skycam in a simulated baseball game. Harper hits this one to the moon. If that ball ever lands, it would be a surprise to you and I both. Somehow the defense will be to blame by Arrieta. What a gargantuan blast that was!
Bryce Harper took Jake Arrieta deep a country mile on this tape measurer.
Even with a 60-game season where seemingly any big league club has a shot to win a World Series this year, the Phillies need to be significantly better than they were a year ago. Despite adding Harper in free agency, Philadelphia finished four in the NL East in 2019 with a .500 record. The Atlanta Braves won the division, while the Washington Nationals won the World Series.
Arrieta needs to find that special sauce he had with him during his five-year run with the Chicago Cubs. He was arguably their best pitcher, as he won the 2015 NL Cy Young and was part of the 2016 World Series team. Harper was not a NL All-Star for only the second time in his big league career last season. While his stats were better than in 2018, he faces huge expectations in 2020.
Outside of the lowly Miami Marlins, seemingly any club in the NL East can win the division title and go on a deep postseason run. Though the New York Mets are more of an extreme dark horse contender more than anything, it would be shocking to not see Atlanta and Washington vying for postseason spots in this one-of-a-kind extremely shortened season.
The cool part about the 60-game sprint is whoever gets hot early just might end up winning it all. Maybe a team catches fire and wins 50 games this summer en route to a World Series championship? Even if some will put an asterisk next to that title, the team that ends up winning won’t care because they’re champions. Philadelphia could be in the mix in this shortened season.
Harper destroyed Arrieta’s offering, which is good for the former and a bad for the latter.