 You've been with the team a couple of weeks now. So what is the biggest difference you've noticed just between the vibe here and what it was like with the Nationals? Yeah. I had some great years with the Nationals, great years in DC. And I love all those guys over there. Staff and Mike Rizzo, the GM, our training staff, everything. And it was great. I had an absolute blast for those seven years that I was there. And I wish them nothing but the best. But now I'm turning the page to Philly. Very excited. I think walking into the clubhouse day one, you never know what it's going to be like. And it was a fear. There's definitely a fear of knowing a place for seven years. And that's the only thing you know. And then you come to a new team and a new city and things like that. And it's like a family. I mean, the first day I walked in, it was open arms, whatever I needed, and anything to make me comfortable and happy. They were definitely all ears for that. So everybody's very genuine. We have a lot of fun. And I think we're going to keep having fun as a team and enjoying it. Outside of your well-known favorite, JT Mio Mudo, what player has impressed you the most? I really like Gene Seguro. I think he's one of the most underrated short stops in the game. He's a guy that hits for average every seven years, hits for power. He's an all-star player. And he's just a very good guy. He plays 155 to 162 games a year. And he's a grinder. You know what you're going to get out of him. And you know what he's going to do. So he's been great. I mean, Jake Ariadette has been awesome, but you don't have a veteran guy like that. He's a winner. He's a proven winner. Very good on the postseason as well. Aaron Noble, of course. I'm glad I don't have to face him anymore. Hoskins, he's mature beyond his years. So I'm very excited about the team that we have. Got a lot of really good ball players and great staff as well. And I'm just looking forward to it. You mentioned Nola. What will it be like for you not having to face him anymore? Oh, man, it's going to be great. He's got the heater that's different. He's got the curveball that just hits a wall and just strikes through usually. And he has this change-up that's electrifying as well. So all of his pitches are plus-plus. He's just getting better each year. He had a breakout year last year. Had a great 2018 campaign. And signed that extension here for a couple more years. And very excited about that to be able to play alongside him for a couple more years as well. Very young. So looking forward to that. Looking forward to seeing him be Aaron Nola and being Aaron Nola that we know. The lineup. It's deep. How good do you think it can be? I think it can be really good. I said at the press conference a couple of weeks back, as a team we have to grow. We have to understand what kind of team we want to be. And it starts with ownership all the way down to us. With John and the way he runs his team and his franchise, he wants to win. And you can see that. You can see that when you talk to him. He understands what it takes to win and understands how to win and go about it. He grew up being a wrestler and going through those grinds and being a collegiate athlete. So he knows how to understand that. And then he went through the 08 run with them, the 09 run with them. And he understands what it's like to bring that back to a city. And I think he's craving that a little bit more now as well. So because it has been a little bit long. So I'm very excited for that to know that he's going to go out and press the buttons to be able to win and goes down to our GM and all the way down to our manager and all the way down to us. So our lineup, I think, is very strong. 1 through 9, I think we're really good. We're very deep, just like you said. Pitching and defense wins championships. So if our pitching can do what they can, and our bullpen as well, can do what they can, and we can score a few runs, I think we'll be OK. You mentioned John. You had a few meetings with him during your free agency. What stood out to you? Just, you know, he was on a personal level every time he talked to me. It didn't matter if he was John Milton, the owner, or just John. And, you know, that's what I loved about him. You know, something we're going to be able to sit down with him and find common ground and understand what he wanted to do as an organization, what he wanted to do as a franchise, for him to put his trust into me, and be able to put my trust into him, was huge. And from day one, I felt that, you know. So, you know, for me, I wanted that 13-year deal. You know, I wanted a long-term commitment. I wanted to be able to dig my roots somewhere, build a family somewhere. Beyond all the money and things like that, that was what I wanted. And, you know, Scott knew that from day one. You know, I had the four-year offers, I had eight-year offers, 10-year for, you know, great amount of money. And they offered me the 13, and I said, absolutely. Like, let's get this thing worked out. And, you know, that's where I wanted to be. So I'm very happy to be in Philly, very excited to be in Philly, and just can't wait. How tough was it to be patient during free agency? This went on for four months. Yeah. You're sitting there just waiting. Yeah, I think Scott, at the beginning, said, hey, we're going to go into March, probably. So, I mean, at the beginning of the time, it was like, OK. So I just went about it like it was regular off-season. Like, I was playing for a team, and it didn't really matter. So I remember my wife, we went on vacation, did all the things we wanted to do, came back and started to work out, and just acted like I was going to go to spring training when I was going to go to spring training. So not at any time was I really frustrated or anything like that. It was more the opposite of, OK, well, the baseball side is going to take care of itself. When can we ship our cars? Where are we going to live? You know, certain things like that. You know, if I wouldn't have signed into March or anything like that, then it would have been OK with me. It wasn't like I'm not going to ever play baseball again. So for me, it was like, OK, it's going to take care of itself, and I'll be where I need to be. Now, the Giants were one of the other teams that was in. Their park, as you know, is not nearly as hitter-friendly as Citizens Bank. So if they had hit the number, let's talk hypothetically, I know, how difficult a decision would that have been, knowing what you can do in Philadelphia from an offensive standpoint. Yeah, I think when I was going through that day, I think it was Thursday when they called. So I just met with Larry and Farhan about two days before. And then the Dodgers came in right after them, talked to them, and they were saying, you know, we can go four years kind of thing like that. And so I was like, you know, that's probably not going to work for me, you know, a long term. I was very appreciative of that, you know, the money and things like that, but I just, I won a long term. And so the next day was Thursday. Scott called me, it was like 9 a.m. and I was still sleeping and still laying in bed and he calls me and he's like, hey, you know, we have an offer from the Phillies. You know, this is what they're willing to do, things like that. So I said, hey, have you heard back from Sam Fran? And he goes, we haven't heard back from them yet. I said, okay, I said, well, once you hear back from Sam Fran, let me know. And so he said, all right, well, talk about this, make a decision like with Kayla and figure out, okay, do we want to hear from Sam Fran or, you know, whatever. So me and Kayla already had like, okay, we're going to go to Philly or we're going to go to Sam Fran, you know, one of those. And what works best for us? What works best for our family? Where did we feel like we could build a family and be around a city that really cared about us as individuals and not just price the baseball player? So we sat there and we talked for a little bit and I remember standing there and me hugging her and saying, hey, we're going to Philly. And that was before we even heard from Sam Fran. And so Sam Fran called back, offered, you know, whatever it was. And by that point, it was kind of like, you know, I'm already a Philadelphia Philly. In my heart, I was already Philadelphia Philly. And I had nothing to do. It was nothing against San Francisco. They're a great organization, great city, things like that. But it just came down to, you know, my feeling and what I felt like. And at that point, it was Philly. Okay. Now the park does factor in at some level. How about just Bryce thinking Hall of Fame down the line, does it become more of an enhancement in Philadelphia? You know, for me, it wasn't, they gave me my overlays on each park. And you know, I saw my overlays in each park if that was National Spark, if that was LA as I was Sam Fran or Philly. And the overlays weren't as crazy as people would think. You know, hitting the ball to the left center in San Francisco was pretty, you know, it's a little bit of a dread stream. And I hit my balls to the left center a lot. So I mean, of course you factor in wind and things like that or cold weather and stuff. But I mean, that was never really a factor. I'm not scared of ballparks. So it was kind of like, okay, well, if I go in the San Fran, then it's gonna make me a better hitter because I have to stay on the ball. You have triple hours to right. But if I stay on the ball, hit the ball to the left. You know, and then pull my homers to right. I hit tower homers to right. So my line drives to the left would have played. So I mean, ballpark wise, it wasn't really, you know, that big of a decision for me. Okay, as you said at the press conference, Scott Boris your agent, he invented the opt out. And yet you said that you did not want one. Why? Yeah, so at the beginning of the whole thing, Scott was sitting there and we were talking about it. And he, you know, he said, so what do you want? You know, what do you want as individuals of you and Kayla as a family? And you know, I told him, I said, I want to be somewhere long-term. I don't want to have to go through this again. I don't want to, you know, uproot my family after four or five years and say, hey, we're going here. Or, hey, Kayla, we got to go here. And this is what we're going to do. And I didn't think that was fair. You know, I didn't think that was fair to a city. I didn't think that was fair to an ownership. For me to just say, okay, four years, I'm done, I'm out of here and I'm going to go for somewhere else. You know, I really wanted to be instilled into a city. I really wanted to be, you know, part of the city for a long period of time. And, you know, throughout the whole last season, you know, I said that I made that big known. Like, I would love to went back to DC. I would have loved to have been there my whole career. But it just didn't work out. You know, both sides have to, you know, find common ground and we just weren't able to do that. So, you know, I turned that page and I was like, okay, so where can I go and really understand that I can be there for a long period of time beyond the money and things like that. But being successful as a team, being happy as an individual off the field. And for me, that was huge. And so when Scott said, okay, well, you know, opt out would be huge after three years or whatever at 29, you know, get back into the market, things like that. I told him, no, I don't want to. I don't want to do it. And he said, okay. He said, then we'll explore the options that we have and we'll figure it out. So he knew from the beginning, I didn't want to be traded and I didn't, you know, want the opt out at all. I wanted to be able to go through the ups and downs with the city. I wanted to be able to, you know, build my family in a city. I wanted to be able to be instilled into a city, the community and really let that city know that I'm part of them. And, you know, for Philly, it means something to put the Phillies across your chest. They understand it, they grind with you. You're in and you're out with all their teams. If that's the Eagles, the Sixers, the Flyers and the Phillies. And I think people know that. And for me, you know, the vibe that I got with Philly, it's a big old neighborhood. And these, you know, the people of Philly really understand and instill themselves into their fan bases and really understand the players. And they try to on a personal level. And I love that. And this organization does that as well. And that really fires me up and makes me want to play hard for this city and, you know, do something special for it as well. Now, not to play the role of Scott, but I imagine he might have said to you, or at least I'll ask you, why sacrifice the control? Why not get the opt-out and the long-term deal? You could have done that. Yeah, but I mean, after three years, why would I do that with a team when I'm going and I'm saying, okay, well, I could go for three years, but how much trust can they have in me for that? As much as I put my trust in them and I'm asking them to trust me, and they're asking me to trust them. So for me, it was about finding that common ground and going, okay, you put your trust into me, I put my trust into you, and this is what we're gonna do. I don't want the opt-out, there's no reason to. I have all the money in the world to do whatever I want with it, and I have more money than I'll ever know what to do with it, you know what I'm saying? So it wasn't about that. It was about me going to a city and instilling myself in that city and being able to build relationships with the people in that city for that period of time. And I mean, all everybody talked about for the first seven years of my career was, he's gonna go here, he's gonna go there. So for me, it would have been a, you know, kind of for my clubhouse and this clubhouse right now, if I had an opt-out after three years, that's all everybody would be talking about. Where is he gonna go in three years? He's gonna go here in three years. He's gonna go here in three years. He's gonna go back to D.C. in three years. So that had no, you know, that had nothing for me. It would have done more damage than good for me, and I just didn't want to be part of that. 330 million, it's a crazy number, obviously. And yet the deal, the AAV is just over 25 million. Trout's gonna be well beyond, that is well beyond that. Manny's beyond that. There are guys coming and you know this because you're smart and you study this. The guys are gonna blow by you. Mookie, Betz, Lindor, whatever. Does that bother you? No, I mean, why should it? You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm happy with where I am. I'm in a great city, I'm with a great team. You know, I'm with a great fan base, and I mean, that's all you can ask for. You know, for me, you know, Aeronado was able to stay with the Rockies. Trout was able to stay with the Angels. Mookie's gonna stay with the Red Sox if they're gonna have them, of course. You know, Judge hopefully is gonna stay with the Yankees. Like, that's what you want. You want guys to be able to be there for a long term and a long period of time. You know, that's what baseball is. It's fun. It's being able to go out there, do whatever you can for your team and your club. Also, be able to get paid what you're worth. And for me, I mean, maybe in 26th of the year, Phillies are able to go out and get wherever they want as well. So I mean, I'm able to go out. We're able to hopefully possibly extend Reese, Real Muto, wherever we get. And we're able to build this core, you know, the core four or the core five that we're gonna have for a long period of time and be able to do that and hopefully bring multiple titles back to this city. And, you know, for me, that's, from day one, that's all I've said. I wanna win. I wanna be only part of the city for a long period of time. And, you know, I'm able to make the money that I am and be able to be successful and happy with what I've done. And, you know, the best advice that I got from Jason was, make a decision and never look back. And that's what I'm gonna do. You know, if Mookie does it, if, you know, if Trout does it, I mean, I'm so happy for him. I'm excited for Trout. I told him that. I texted him, said, hey man, I'm so excited for you and Jess. I'm happy for you. You deserve it. There's no other player in the league that's more deserving than Mike Trout. And everybody knows that. And so if that's Mookie, if that's Judge or whoever it is, you know, that's what it's all about. So I'm very happy for them. AAV or anything like that, whatever, I got my years. And at the beginning, that's all I wanted. That first day, they sold more jerseys than anyone's ever sold the first day. What did that mean to you? It's what you get when you play for a great fan base. You know, you see that. And, you know, it just goes to show how great of a city Philadelphia is. And, you know, I'm very, very happy, very excited to be able to play in front of a fan base like this. And, you know, I'm excited to get it going. You know, excited to see all the Harper Threes out there and be able to be part of something bigger than myself with the Philadelphia Phillies. And, you know, it just goes to show, like I said, how great of a fan base this is, how great of a city it is, and I'm more than happy to be part of it. Now, you mentioned Jason. And Jason said in an interview shortly after he signed, he was asked, all right, when do you think Bryce might get booed the first time? And he said, opening day. So I guess I have to ask you, how thick is your skin? Uh, I mean, I think you see it every single day. I get booed all the time. And, you know, of course it's different when you're at home and things like that. But like I said, these fans, they live and die with you. They understand how this game works. And, you know, that's what they look forward to every single night. They look forward to the Eagles games on Sundays. They look forward to, you know, the Sixers games and the Flyers games. And they look forward to the Phillies games each week. So I mean, if you're looking forward to that, if you're buying a ticket for that, then you expect your superstars to perform well. And for me, I've always had high expectations my whole life. You know, every single day I come into this game, I've had high expectations to play what, play it again the right way, play well. And, you know, we live in the era of social media and, you know, media people and media coverage on everything. And I mean, it's bound to happen. I mean, I hope, you know, hopefully it doesn't, but it's bound to happen. Gabe said something to me just now that I thought was really interesting. He said, you mentioned to him that because you experienced as a young person a lot of diversity, a lot of different experiences because you were so good, so fast, that it kind of made you blend into a major league clubhouse that much easier. So what was it about your background that kind of made this journey a little bit different than it would have been for others? I mean, coming up at 19, you know, it's always tough. You know, I think, you know, nobody ever did that before. You know, it was something like, okay, well, you know, Griffey, all those guys come up at 19 and, you know, it's a different game. It's a different ball game. You know, then I came up and, you know, having to deal with the social media, having to deal with the new era of media and just the craziness and, you know, everybody's watching you do this, everybody watching you do that. It was different. So, I mean, the first three years of my career, it was definitely hard. You know, it was definitely, I was very lucky to have a guy like Jason Worth. I was very lucky to have a guy like Ian Desmond kind of, you know, helped me along in that sense and do some things that, you know, helped me out along the way. So, you know, for me, it was just being able to understand and learn the game a little bit more, you know, those first three years and try to get my feet under me and, you know, try to understand it. You know, not wearing myself out where July comes and I'm absolutely, you know, dog tired or, you know, next year, August comes and I'm dog tired again, you know, really trying to prolong, you know, what I do and being consistent and things like that. You know, it was really cool to be able to see Juan Soto come up last year and really, you know, try to instill in him like, be Juan Soto. I don't care where you come from, I don't care how old you are, what's your background, you know, how young you are or anything like that. If you can help us win, that's all I care. You know, I want you to be able to be Juan Soto, do all your little things that you do and, you know, stare down the picture and, you know, do whatever. Whatever makes you happy and makes you have fun, you know, that's what it's all about. You know, I want people to be able to walk into this clubhouse and know that I have their back on a personal level, no matter what. Until you change my mind, you know, it's gonna be different. But for me, it's, on a personal level, it doesn't matter who walks into our clubhouse, you're part of this family. And, you know, it's, from day one, I want that to be instilled in this clubhouse because they know when they, if they're 17, 18, if that's, you know, 19 or whatever, like Mickey Moneak or anybody who it is, I want them to be able to walk in and go, man, this team has my back, it doesn't matter if I'm over four or four for four or if I have to answer the hard questions or I don't have to answer the hard questions, I'm part of this team, I'm part of this culture. And, you know, for our clubhouse, that's gonna be huge, you know, when I'm gonna be here for a long period of time. So, you know, if we can instill that early and instill that in our minor leagues as well, where we, you know, we're a family, we go through this, we go through the ups and downs, the highs and the lows all together. And, you know, we fight together and we grind together. That's what it's all about.