Phillies Pick Gets Chance to Apologize to Harper

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It’s been eight years since David Buchanan pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies organization. It’s been nine since he had an interaction with Bryce Harper that he’s regretted ever since.

When Buchanan signed a minor league deal with the Phillies earlier this month, it came with an invitation to spring training and a chance to mend that fence with the superstar slugger.

Buchanan has been out of Major League Baseball since the Phillies designated him for assignment after the 2016 season. He signed with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball. He followed that by signing with the Samsung Lions in the Korean Baseball Organization three years later.

With the Lions, he became one of the best pitchers in the league. In 2021 he tied for the league-high in wins with 16 and set franchise records for wins and innings pitched by a foreign player. He was a KBO All-Star in both 2022 and 2023, as he played last season on a deal that paid him $1.6 million.

He’s been out of the game for so long that there are only three players in the Phillies clubhouse that he’s actually faced. One is Harper.

Buchanan talked about that game and his regret when it comes to Harper with MLB.com.

Buchanan faced Harper in a game at Citizens Bank Park on Sept. 15, 2015. Back then Harper was with the Washington Nationals and he homered off Buchanan. That’s not the unusual part. Harper has victimized plenty of pitchers.

But Buchanan has always regretted what preceded the home run — his first pitch sailed behind Harper’s back.

Buchanan called it one of his two biggest regrets in baseball. Once he signed with the Phillies, he knew part of his spring training was going to be a chat with Harper about the at-bat and an apology.

“I want to get back to the big leagues because I want to talk to Bryce and talk about that at-bat,” he said. “Whoever I was playing with, that was going to be a conversation. The fact that I got the chance to do it in the same clubhouse was good.”

Buchanan made his spring training debut on Monday against Boston, as he threw two innings and gave up four hits and two runs. He may be a long-shot to make the Phillies’ Opening-Day roster. But at least got his chance to make amends with Harper.