WIP’s Jon Marks is putting his back on the line for a Philadelphia Phillies World Series championship. More specifically, he’s offering the space on his back.
Marks and Ike Reese interviewed Phillies star Bryce Harper from Spring Training in Clearwater, Florida and said he would get a tattoo of the reigning National League Most Valuable Player on his back if the team wins the World Series this season.
For anyone who thinks this might be an empty promise from Marks, consider that he already has a tattoo of former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles on the right side of his back. Marks got inked to pay off a bet when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII in 2018.
“If I could be anywhere next to Nick Foles, I’ll take it,” Harper told Marks. “I will absolutely take it. That guy is an absolute legend in Philadelphia. If I could be next to him on anything, that means we did something the right way and we did it. So I hope there is a tattoo [of me] right next to him on your back.”
Could Harper join Foles on the left side of Marks’s back? The Phillies have a tough path in the NL East with the defending World Series champions already in the division and the New York Mets adding Max Scherzer and Starling Marte, along with rebuilding their bullpen.
The Phillies have added some major firepower to their lineup with free agents Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber. And their bullpen is fortified with Corey Knebel, Jeurys Familia, and Brad Hand. But Philadelphia’s defense — especially in the outfield — could be extremely bad. The pitching staff, led by Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, might have to strike out a lot of batters to prevent the ball from going into play.
Marks may have been better off betting on Harper to win a second consecutive NL MVP award. The right fielder won those honors with a .309 batting average, 1.044 OPS, 35 home runs, 42 doubles, and 84 runs batted in. But that’s not a bold enough wager to warrant getting a permanent image on his back, right?