Bryce Harper posts ‘Thank you’ hours before 1st game back

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bryce Harper has posted a “Thank you” message to Nationals fans and the city of Washington on Instagram, hours before he plays his first game against his former team.

Harper spent his first seven major league seasons in Washington before leaving as a free agent and signing with the Philadelphia Phillies in March for $330 million over 13 years.

The Nationals offered him much less money, with millions that would be deferred for decades.

Harper’s post on Tuesday mentions a few local restaurants, the Lerner family that owns the Nationals and general manager Mike Rizzo. It makes no reference to any of his managers or teammates in Washington.

He wrote that he is “sure to hear some boos” at Tuesday night’s game, “but I will always remember the cheers and the screams that are still with me right now, as I start my new chapter.”