Phillies star Bryce Harper was sporting a festive bat for Sunday’s Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
When Harper stepped to the plate in the top of the first, he was holding a rather unique bat for the appearance.
The body of the bat was lime green and on the barrel had the Phillies famous mascot, the Phillie Phanatic on it.
Hilariously, ESPN broadcaster David Cone mistook the Phanatic for Spongebob Squarepants before he was quickly corrected.
The bat was apparently one of three specially designed bats that Harper had for Sunday’s game at the home of the Little League World Series.
A post on Reddit on Friday showed Harper with two other bats, including one with the design of a No. 2 pencil.
Bryson Stott broke out the pencil bat later in the game.
It wasn’t the first time that Harper had broken out a bat with the Phanatic on it.
In 2021, he arrived at Spring Training with a different custom bat that featured the Phanatic that stole the show in Florida.
Then-manager Joe Girardi even told the Philadelphia Inquirer at the time, “I love the stuff he comes out with.”
Even before his Phanatic-themed bat was used in the game, Harper had already been the topic of conversation on social media on Sunday.
Harper and several of his Phillies teammates arrived in Williamsport in time to see the Little League team from Media, Pennsylvania take on Rhode Island, and were captured on the broadcast cheering for the Media team.
Later the Phillies released video of him meeting with the Little Leaguers from Pennsylvania after they had lost to Rhode Island.
“You’re going to pick up from right here and you’ll be OK,” Harper said in the video. “It’s a stepping stone to being great. Just a stepping stone to being great.”
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