There's a saying in sports. If you look good, you feel good. And if you feel good, you play good.
Perhaps that's the approach that Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper is adopting, as the two-time National League MVP was sporting a completely different look when he took the field for for his club's 3–2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday.
Harper, mired in a slump that ended April and has now spilled into May, shaved off his long hair and opted for a buzzcut instead. The Phillies star looked completely different, a fact that was not lost on fans.
Bryce Harper cut all of his hair off ✂️ pic.twitter.com/zaTmYhaBNn
— MLB (@MLB) May 13, 2025
A closer look at Bryce Harper’s new cut 👀 pic.twitter.com/w57dgEByRE
— Philly Sports Sufferer (@mccrystal_alex) May 12, 2025
just woke up n remembered bryce harper has no hair pic.twitter.com/LySMHGdow3
— rae 🃏 (@clitlord77) May 13, 2025
It's hard to say whether this was just Harper looking for a fresh haircut with the summer coming up or a genuine appearance change in the hopes of sparking himself at the plate. The Phillies star has just a .615 OPS and two home runs since April 20.
If it was indeed a change in the hopes of sparking a hot streak at the dish, it wouldn't be the first time Harper has done something like this. After an 0-for-16 stretch in September of 2023, Harper shaved off his beard. When asked why he did so, he simply replied, "I mean, you guys know. Everybody knows," according to MLB.com. He also did something similar as a member of the Washington Nationals during the 2018 season.
Harper recently vented his frustrations following a May 4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Phillies manager Rob Thomson made it clear that Harper's struggles are still weighing on him.
Harper went 0-for-3 with a walk in his first game with short hair. But if he starts picking things up at the plate, it'll be hard to convince people that it wasn't because of the hair.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bryce Harper Looks So Different After Shaving Off His Long Hair.
