Eager Harper committed to living in the moment

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - As a season's worth of whispers about what was wrong with Bryce Harper - whether he had an injured shoulder, a kink in his neck, whether his swing was irreparably broken - leaked into the offseason, the Nationals slugger couldn't care less.

Instead of paying any attention to his critics or their omnipresent theories, Harper had a busy offseason of deadlifting 505 lbs. during weight training sessions, sporting new swag from Las Vegas' new National Hockey League team, getting married in front of family, teammates and Nationals ownership, and strengthening mind and body through yoga.

Last season, Harper emphasized while speaking to the media Saturday morning on the agility field at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, is in the past. And he's only looking into the future.

"I feel great," Harper said. "I feel really good. I think I'm ready for this year and ready to hopefully stay on the field every single day. That's the key: Staying on the field and playing 155 to 160 games. That's what I want to do. Just doing everything I can to get ready and still got six weeks down here. Stay on the same program I have been on home and hopefully play a few games here and get ready and get back up to Nats Park and get ready for the year."

Though Harper declined to go into specifics, he said he knew "exactly why" he struggled last year. Coming off a Most Valuable Player campaign in 2015, his average plummeted from .330 to .243, his home run total sagged from 42 to 24 and he often looked lost at the plate.

"That's what you go through," he said. "You build and you grow and you try to maintain. It's what I'm going to try to do again this year: Maintain what I can and do everything I can possible to help this team win. I stayed in the lineup last year and tried to help this team win every single day and that's your goal every single day."

This winter was far too busy with family and plans for his December wedding to Kayla Varner. There wasn't time for breaking down video, seeing what was different from his 2015 MVP campaign to last season's struggles. Nor did Harper really think there was a need.

"It's more of an emotional roller coaster for you guys than it is for me," he said. "I enjoy what I do. I'm 24 years old, living my dream every single day and I enjoy what I do. I enjoy playing in the city of D.C. and I enjoy going back home and enjoying my family in the offseason. I was able to marry my beautiful bride this offseason, as well. So everybody who said I was worried about baseball this offseason, I could care less. Doing everything possible to enjoy my offseason and enjoy my family. This was definitely one of the best offseasons I've had in a long time. I enjoyed this offseason a lot more than my MVP year. ... I wouldn't take anything back."

Harper's mental and physical preparation for 2017 began, he said, the minute after the Nationals lost to the Dodgers in the National League Division Series in October.

"It's what have you done for me lately - everyone knows that," he said. "Of course, you guys and media members know that better than anybody. So it's always been that way, it's always been that way my whole life - going to every single tournament, I did what I needed to do and next weekend it was what have you done for me lately? Always been that way and I've always done that. It's part of what we need. I like that feeling of what have you done for me lately, and how we go about it the next day. If you're 0-for-4 or 4-for-4, you're only as good as your last at-bat."

And for Harper, lately is now - as position players begin the arduous process of getting themselves in game shape over the next seven weeks for the regular season. He's living in the moment, certainly not thinking ahead to after the 2018 season, when he could become a free agent in a class that's packed with star power and sure to set records for contract dollars.

"I mean, I think we got a group of guys to win and that's our biggest goal here: You want to win every single day," Harper said. "Not look ahead, not look behind. Live in that moment and live in that day. Being a Washington National, I love it. I enjoy playing in the city of D.C. and I enjoy the fans. I enjoy the organization so much. Mr. and Mrs. Lerner gave me an opportunity when I was 17 years old to play Major League Baseball. (General manager Mike) Rizzo coming out and watching me play at (College of Southern Nevada), him seeing me for the first time, him and Bob Boone. They gave me that opportunity and I'm going to play these next two years out, and beyond that, I really don't care. I just want to play these two years, have some fun, hopefully win and do everything we can for the city of D.C. Bring that trophy back, hopefully. It's a very monumental town, so if we can do some things, it'll be a lot of fun."

More from Harper's 13-minute meeting with the media:

On how his body felt at the end of the season: "Felt good. Felt great in the playoffs. We had a great run at the end and things just didn't go our way. We just got to try to maintain this year and do everything we can as a team, as an organization. Got a great group of guys. Excited to get going."

On team's moves this offseason: "I'm excited for the move down to West Palm, to tell you the truth. That's the biggest move I'm excited about. Excited to be down here, excited to get going in a new place with some great fields and cages and weight room finally. A little pool over there. Do some cannonballs ... on a hot day down here. But as a whole, as a club, think they did a great job. Everybody has wants and needs and Rizzo does a great job. I mean you got to trust what Rizz does. He always puts a team out there that competes. Having the grinders that we do - whether that's Trea Turner or (Anthony) Rendon. (Adam) Eaton, of course. We just got a great club. Got the leaders of J-Dub (Jayson Werth), Zim (Ryan Zimmerman) and (Jayson) Werth. Got a great staff and we're excited to go. This is what we do as a team, all 25 guys. What we can do as a staff. And I'm excited to be part of it."

On the Cubs winning the World Series: "It's amazing, something they haven't done in a long, long time. It's great for baseball. Of course, you want to be the team that knocked them out and all that stuff. But just unbelievable for baseball. What a great (World) Series they had against Cleveland. (Terry) Francona and (Joe) Maddon battling it out, of course. Just a lot of fun. Of course, I was watching Kris (Bryant) a lot and seeing what he was doing. Excited for him and excited for Vegas as a whole for all the talent we have there. So just excited for baseball. But hopefully we can do what we can this year and have some fun."

On whether he's more pumped than usual this year: "I'm ready to go, I'm excited to be part of a great team. We're a great team, we've got a lot of great guys on our club. I'm excited for J-Dub's last year, of course, with the Nats."

On his ever-present Dallas Cowboys cap that seems to stir up so many bad feelings among D.C. football fans: "I wear it every day, I do. I've always been a Cowboys fan since I was 5 years old. I'm a Duke fan, a Lakers fan. I mean, I'm from Vegas. I gamble on the best every single day. That's what I do. I don't care (what people say)."