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Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper is known for partaking in the fine art of pandering. He may have perfected the craft on Saturday, breaking out a fairly common soccer-style goal celebration after hitting a game-tying home run against the New York Mets as part of the first game of the 2024 London Series (GameTracker).

Harper's home run came against a hanging Sean Manaea sweeper and knotted the game at 1-1. Take a look at the scene in question:

And here's Harper's celebration of choice:

Harper could later be heard over a hot mic on the FOX broadcast yelling that he "loves soccer." He also told a teammate that he had been planning that celebration "for years." Who can doubt him? After all, this is the same Harper who had a custom bat designed to feature the Phillie Phanatic posed as a King's Guard:

Harper, 31, entered Saturday hitting .268/.378/.512 (153  OPS+) with 14 home runs and 44 runs batted in. His contributions had been worth an estimated 2.0 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference's calculations. 

The London Series is being played at London Stadium, a multipurpose facility built for the 2012 Olympics that serves as the home of the English Premier League's West Ham United. This is the third time MLB has played a series in London. Previously, the New York Yankees swept the Boston Red Sox in 2019 and the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals split a series in 2023. You can read more about the London Series by clicking our primer here.

The Phillies came into Saturday's contest with a 44-19 record, giving them the best record in Major League Baseball. The Mets, conversely, were placed fourth in the National League East with a 27-35 mark. The two sides will wrap up the London Series on Sunday morning. First pitch is slated for just after 10 a.m. ET.