PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper, standing behind a sea of microphones and notepads, tried to make sense of it all.

Harper and the Phillies were supposed to be traveling to Philadelphia on Sunday, preparing for Game 3 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers, not sitting at home figuring out tee times and early family vacations.

They were a richer, more talented, more experienced team than the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. They had the final two games at their raucous ballpark in Philadelphia. But they suddenly stopped hitting, stopping winning, and watched the Diamondbacks partying on the field.

Harper, now standing in the quiet of the clubhouse, apologized to Philadelphia fans for just missing a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning of Game 7, one that will stick with him until spring training.

“Man, not being able to come through in that moment," Harper said, “it was just devastating for me. I feel like I let my team down and I let the city of Philadelphia down as well.

“It’s a moment I feel like I need to come through.”

The Phillies fanbase loved the genuine, heartfelt apology and fell in love with Harper all over again.

“I have never seen an athlete in any sport who resonates more with the Philadelphia fanbase more than Bryce," Phillies owner John Middleton told USA TODAY Sports. “I’m talking about any athlete in Philadelphia history.

“He’s gone out of his way in terms of complimenting the fans, and talking about how much he likes it here. Hey, what fanbase doesn’t like to hear that? But of all the fanbases that like to hear that, I’m sure the Philadelphia fanbase wants to hear it as much, if not more than the most.

“It’s really remarkable."

The key, Middleton will tell you, is Harper’s contract. When he signed his 13-year, $330 million deal, he insisted that he did not want an opt-out. His agent, Scott Boras, told him to reconsider, letting him know he was potentially leaving millions on the table. Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres, who signed a 10-year contract with the San Diego Padres at the same time, just turned his opt-out into an 11-year, $350 million extension this spring.

“Bryce endeared himself to our fan base from the get-go,’’ Middleton said. “As soon as the fans heard that there was no opt-outs, they said, 'This guy wants to be here. He wants to stay here. He wants to raise his family here. He wants to win here.’

“If he had a five-year opt out like a lot of players do, it would be like, 'Oh if you're playing really well, then you're just going to leave us, and if you’re not playing well, you’ll stay.’ That's a one-way street. Fans here don't like one-way streets.

“The fans here want to be committed to their players. And they want the players to be equally committed to them."

Harper, by resisting the opt-out, is now only the 22^nd-highest paid player in the sport, earning $26 million a year through 2029, and then $22 million in the final three years of his contract. He may not even be among the top 100 highest-paid players by the time his contract expires.

“I think with Harp he wanted to build a champion," Boras said. “I told him, 'Economically you can’t give up your opt-out.' He told me, 'I know Philly fans. I have to let them know I’m there for the long haul. I want to recruit players, too, since I’ll be here for the rest of my career.' "

Middleton, in turn, made a commitment right back to Harper.

“You always wonder how hungry is he going to be when he’s got $330 million coming over the next decade-plus," Middleton said. “But from his perspective, he’s looking at me and is thinking the same. Is he still going to be hungry? Is he going to go out there and spend, or am I just going to be a marketing gimmick to try to put people in the seats, sell some jerseys? What’s this guy going to do?

“I made the point the point repeatedly that the way we structured the deal to get him the maximum contract that anybody had ever gotten in North America, but still leave us with an AAV [average annual value] that we can build around him.

“Bryce looked at me and said, 'I'm willing to bet my future, my career on you.’ That’s powerfully motivating to me. We trusted him, and he trusted us."

The two delivered, with Harper winning the MVP in 2021, and leading the Phillies within one game of back-to-back World Series berths these last two years.

Middleton opened his wallet and kept spending after signing Harper in 2019. He signed free agents Zack Wheeler, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Taijuan Walker, with Harper recruiting along the way.

“I think his contract sent a message," Boras said. “Bryce knew the audience. He said if I’m going to Philadelphia, I want to recruit, build a team, and I want the city to know I’m there for them."

Harper, who came back two months early from Tommy John surgery this season, hopes to be fully healthy for the first time since 2021. He will continue to play first base, where he spent 36 games in the regular season, if that’s what they prefer. If they need him to return to the outfield, letting them re-sign first baseman Rhys Hoskins, he’s fine by that too.

“We like to think of ourselves and describe ourselves as a no-nonsense, blue-collar town,’’ Middleton says. “When you see a guy who works to come back early, and come back from significant injuries ahead of schedule, it tells you so much about Bryce. The guy just wants to play. He wants to win. He’s willing to do anything, including learning a new position.

“He’s not just talking the talk, he’s showing people. 'This is what I’m doing to win.' And by the way, it rubs off on his teammates too."

Harper and Middleton may have the closest player-owner relationship in the game. Harper has spent considerable time recruiting free agents. He offers his input on potential trades. If there’s a question about a player's character, the team reaches out to Harper. They constantly stay in contact.

It’s a true partnership.

Middleton may be the Phillies owner.

But the Phillies are Harper’s team.

“It’s really amazing to me to the magnitude in which he's changed this organization," Middleton said. “As much as I thought he would help us, it’s exceeded even my highest hopes and expectations for him. I mean we are a completely different organization because he signed here.

“I feel a deep obligation to Bryce to do everything I can to uphold my end of the bargain, and I will.

“We will be back."

Bank on it.

Around the basepaths

– MLB executives continue to believe that Padres All-Star outfielder Juan Soto, who hit .274 with 35 homers and 109 RBI, will be traded this winter. The Padres need to slash payroll, and Soto is expected to command about $33 million in salary arbitration, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

– Torii Hunter, the five-time All Star and nine-time Gold Glove winner, has emerged as a candidate to fill the Los Angeles Angels’ managerial vacancy. Hunter spent five years playing for the Angels and is tremendously regarded by owner Arte Moreno for his leadership and baseball acumen.

The Angels also have discussed other former players such as Darin Erstad and Tim Salmon.

Former Red Sox and Brewers manager Ron Roenicke, a long-time Angels coach under Mike Scioscia, along with Angels coach Benji Gil and former Mets manager Buck Showalter may also get formal interviews.

– The Texas Rangers still are fuming over Houston Astros reliever Bryan Abreu hitting DH Mitch Garver in Game 7, after hitting outfielder Adolis Garcia in Game 5, leading to a two-game suspension to start the 2024 season.

When Garver was hit, the Rangers implored their pitching staff not to retaliate to avoid a World Series suspension.

They will see the Astros again on April 5-8 at Globe Life Field.

You may want to get your tickets now.

– The San Diego Padres say they didn’t ask for compensation from the San Francisco Giants for manager Bob Melvin because the Oakland A’s provided them with the same courtesy two years ago.

How about that?

If the same held true among ownership groups, the A’s would be playing today in San Jose. Yet, after they gave the Giants the territory to help them land a new ballpark in San Francisco when they nearly moved to Tampa, the Giants never returned the territorial rights to Oakland.

It would be awfully hypocritical for the Giants to vote against the A’s relocation to Las Vegas at the owners’ meetings Nov. 14-16. It would be nothing more than a publicity stunt knowing that no one is happier having the A’s out of town, giving the Giants the sixth-largest market all to themselves.

– Craig Kimbrel may have 417 career saves, but his postseason failures could keep him out of the Hall of Fame.

Kimbrel has appeared in 24 postseason games since 2016, and has yielded a 5.40 ERA and .848 OPS, giving up 22 hits and 17 walks in 23 ⅓ innings, as veteran stat guru Bill Chuck pointed out.

The Red Sox were afraid to use him to close out their World Series championship in 2018, the Los Angeles Dodgers kept him off their playoff roster in 2022, and he cost the Phillies two games in the NLCS against the Diamondbacks.

– There will be nothing more deafening than the old Metrodome when the Minnesota Twins won the 1987 and 1991 World Series, but the crowd noise at Globe Life Field registered 112 decibels when Corey Seager hit the game-tying home run in Game 1.

“I've been in a lot of arenas, I've been on a football field with 100,000 fans cheering," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “That was easily the loudest crowd roar that I've ever heard. And well-deserved."

– The Philadelphia Phillies have had tremendous success in their free-agent signings with Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber, and now must decide whether to re-sign Aaron Nola. They have balked at his asking price of eight years in excess of $200 million, but president Dave Dombrowski still calls it a priority to sign him.

Nola struggled this season with a 4.46 ERA but he has been awfully durable, making a major-league leading 175 starts since 2018.

“We hope to retain him," Dombrowski said at the team's season-ending press conference, “but if we don’t, that would be our No. 1 area that we’d need to then replace him. We need to be in a position where we have somebody else that would be a starting pitcher of quality in the rotation. It’s either Aaron or somebody else.”

– The top pitchers expected to be available on this trade market this season, according to GMs, are Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers, Tyler Glasnow of the Tampa Bay Rays and Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Guardians.

– New Giants manager Bob Melvin, despite spending 11 years in Oakland, never got a chance to meet Giants great Buster Posey until his job interview.

“I have never spoken to Buster Posey in all these years," Melvin told reporters. “And you know what? That’s a good thing because he was about winning and about playing and competing, and not being somebody’s friend.

“So when we spoke the other day, it was a great experience because all of a sudden, I felt like I knew him. Where as before, I just didn’t like him. He’s such a pain.

“So I do like Buster Posey very much now.”

– Rangers third baseman Josh Jung on the Rangers’ explosive offense: “Anybody in our lineup steps to the plate, grab your popcorn, because something cool is about to happen."

– Diamondbacks outfielder Tommy Pham says the New York Mets should be embarrassed for missing the playoffs with their collection of talent.

“That team is more talented than this team," Pham said. “Let’s be honest here. But what makes this team different is everyone is still at this level trying to reach their max potential. The drive wasn’t there [with the Mets]. That drive is here. That’s what separates this team from most teams. You have guys that are still trying to get better every day. You have teammates trying to help you out. And that’s dangerous.”

Pham also didn’t back away from his comments late in the season that several Mets players were lazy in their preparation.

“If anyone disagrees with me over there, man, you got to take a long look in the mirror and be honest," Pham said.

– It’s hard to believe that Rangers’ All-Star outfielder Adolis Garcia was dumped by the St. Louis Cardinals, and twice designated for assignment, including by the Rangers.

“We don’t always make good decisions," Rangers GM Chris Young said. “He was still a developing player ... I think the question we had was is he consistent enough to be a good major-league player at that point?"

“Where we were as an organization, we had the ability to give him the runway to work through those things. And I think as he got opportunity, we saw a player with extreme aptitude, a player with incredible work ethic, an energy, a passion for excellence and continual improvement.

“He’s made himself into the player he is now. And as you get to know the person, it’s no surprise.”

– Pretty cool that Princeton coach Scott Bradley was invited to the World Series where two of his former players are now GMs in Chris Young of the Rangers and Mike Hazen of the D-backs.

“It’s pretty special for him to have both of us in the World Series," Young said. “I know he’s going to be torn. He wants a tie, I think is what he said. It’s a great honor for him and we’re certainly happy he can be here to be celebrated.”

– Hall of Famer closer Trevor Hoffman came to the World Series to support his former Padres manager, Bruce Bochy.

– Dayton Moore, a special assistant with the Texas Rangers, is not going to the Chicago White Sox, but is being pursued by another American League team.

– It was Theo Epstein who brought reliever Craig Breslow to Boston in 2006 when he was the Red Sox GM.

It was Epstein who brought Breslow to the Chicago Cubs front office when he was president of baseball operations.

And it was Epstein who strongly recommended Breslow to the Red Sox ownership, who hired him to be their chief baseball officer.

– While the Diamondbacks plan to sign manager Torey Lovullo to a multi-year contract extension this winter, the Phillies have not yet spoken with manager Rob Thomson about a new contract. Their contracts each expire after the 2024 season.

“My whole career, I’ve never worried about my contract,” Thomson said in the Phillies’ season-ending press conference. I’ve never worried about getting fired. Because I can’t control it. I just can’t. So I leave it alone, I put my head down, I do my work, and whatever happens, happens.”

– Melvin, 62, who was born and raised in the Bay Area, says it’s a dream come true to return home to manage the Giants.

“Every series (in San Francisco) I would look in that dugout over on the other side and say, ‘Maybe someday, hopefully,’” Melvin said. “I can admit that now, I was hoping at some point in time, I’d come back. …

“San Francisco is the Giants and the Giants are San Francisco. I don’t think anybody understands that more than I do.”

– Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo is hoping that bench coach Jeff Banister lands one of the managerial openings this winter.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without him,” Lovullo said. “He’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me as a manager. He fills in the gaps. He fills in my personality gaps. At times, I feel like he does a better job than me.”

– The Padres will be hiring their sixth manager in just 10 years under GM A.J. Preller. Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt is the favorite while associate manager Ryan Flaherty is getting strong consideration.

– Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, who will now manage the AL All-Star team in July 2024, will become the first manager since Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox in 2000 to use his own office for the All-Star festivities.

– Brad Ausmus and Joe Espada have emerged as the leading candidates to replace manager Dusty Baker in Houston. Ausmus finished runner-up to Baker when they hired a manager in 2020, and also runner-up to Dana Brown last winter when they hired a GM.

– Dennis Gilbert, the Chicago White Sox executive and Perfect Game commissioner, is being honored Oct. 30 by the Rod Dedeaux Foundation as their 2023 Lifetime Achievement award recipient. Past honorees include Jackie Robinson, Tom Seaver, Tommy Lasorda and Sparky Anderson.

– The Giants are expected to be big-time spenders this winter, and are about $80 million under the $237 million luxury tax threshold in 2024.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Philadelphia's bond with Bryce Harper can't be broken