World Series 2022: What Top Players Are Saying amid MLB Playoffs

Stars are shining brightly in the 2022 MLB playoffs, with the Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper fueling his team to a surprising National League Championship Series appearance following a 3-1 series victory over the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves.

He is hardly the only hitter proving the difference between victory and defeat for his team.

Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader has been key to New York's success and hopes to lift his hometown team past Cleveland and into an American League Championship Series appearance against Houston.

What are those two sluggers saying amid much-celebrated postseason performances, and who else chimed in as championship opportunities await?

Find out now with this collection of quotes from some of the most prominent playoff performers.

Harrison Bader Is 'Electric'

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 16: Harrison Bader #22 of the New York Yankees rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the second inning in game four of the American League Division Series at Progressive Field on October 16, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Harrison Bader homered in Game 4 of the ALDS, extending the Yankees' lead to 3-0 and a series-evening win over the Cleveland Guardians.

After the game, starting pitcher Gerrit Cole had nothing but praise for his teammate. "He’s electric, really," he said after Sunday's game, per Betelhem Ashame of MLB.com. "Impact player. He’s got moxie, baseball awareness, gets after the ball on defense. [I have] a lot of good things to say about that guy. And yeah, he’s having a really good series so far. It’s obviously been fun to watch."

Bader echoed his teammate: "Gerrit said it really, really well. You just play each out, each at-bat as just a singular event, and you go from there and keep repeating it until the game is over."

It seems like a reserved answer but one cannot overstate how important Bader has been for the Yankees this postseason.

The 28-year-old joined the Yankees in August after five-and-a-half seasons in St. Louis and has been the best hitter on the team in these playoffs. He has blasted three home runs on four hits, drove in four runs and is averaging .286. His OPS is a staggering 1.214.

"There are a lot of organizations that are not like the New York Yankees. What I mean by that is just the standard that the players hold themselves to day in and day out, the staff that’s surrounding the players—it is just such a winning culture, a winning mentality. The fans, the level of expectation they have is high, and I wouldn’t want it any other way," the Bronxville, New York, native said following Sunday's win in Cleveland.

With teammate Aaron Judge struggling to hit the way he did en route to his historic 62-home run season, Bader has been key to New York's postseason livelihood. Without him fueling the offense Sunday, who knows exactly how the potential elimination game against Cleveland would have turned out.

He will be key for the organization moving forward in the postseason, too.

The Yankees still have to win one more against Cleveland to move on to the ALCS, where they will face one of the best rotations in the majors in Houston. Hitting home runs and driving in runs will be key if the Yankees have any hope of winning their first World Series since 2009.

"I just view being traded here very serendipitously, and I look to take advantage of it every single day."

Joe Musgrove Thankful NLCS Kicks Off in San Diego

Harry How/Getty Images

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Joe Musgrove #44 of the San Diego Padres reacts after striking out Will Smith #16 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning in game four of the National League Division Series at PETCO Park on October 15, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The San Diego Padres advanced to the NLCS with a 3-1 series win over the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers. Waiting for them is another underdog team whose elimination of the defending world champion Atlanta Braves feels eerily similar to their postseason success: the Philadelphia Phillies.

That correlation is not lost on Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove.

"They're another Wild Card team that’s really caught fire late in the year. They’re very similar to us right now. They’re riding on energy, riding on that high, feeding off each other and the city. It’s a good thing we start at home," he said, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.

The Padres will have two games to try and jump out to an early series lead over the Phillies, whose hitting has been the story of their postseason. Philadelphia scored 24 runs in four games, emphatically sending the Braves home and setting themselves up as one of the hottest teams remaining in these playoffs.

Musgrove will have a chance to stunt the momentum Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins and the rest of the Phillies when he takes the mound in Game 1. The last time he pitched in a high-stakes game, he shut out the New York Mets and eliminated them from the postseason.

One has to wonder if the real opposition for the Padres is less the Phillies and more the Dodgers team that they sent home. Much of the conversation in the wake of Saturday's victory was on getting past their interstate rivals.

"When we were talking about it at the end—where are we going to end up?—we were going to have to go through the Mets and we were going to have to go through the Dodgers," manager Bob Melvin told Cassavell. "It felt like that was the way it was going to need to go. We gained confidence as a team beating the Mets that allowed us to come in and feel confident against the Dodgers."

The one team he did not mention? The squad the Friars will have to overcome to advance to the World Series.

Bryce Harper Happy to Be Playing, Thriving in Philadelphia Ahead of NLCS

Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 15: Philadelphia Phillies Designated Hitter Bryce Harper (3) races to hitting a home run after crossing home plate during the eighth inning of Game 4 of the NLDS between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies on October 15, 2022, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA.(Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Bryce Harper has been an unstoppable force at the plate this offseason. In the NLDS, against defending World Series champions Atlanta, he went 8-of-16 with three home runs and two run-scoring doubles.

"He can take over series. We saw that. Right in the middle of our lineup, guys on base, not on base—it didn’t matter. It was just squaring up ball after ball after ball. There’s a reason why he’s been the MVP—twice. And we saw it on display in full force in this series," hitting coach Kevin Long told reporters after Saturday's 8-3 win over the Braves, per Barry Sverluga of the Washington Post.

"He’s a better hitter now. When I had him in Washington, he was too up-and-down. And now he’s way more consistent," Long continued.

Harper responded, "I just think I’m older, right? Just more developed. I think it’s a mindset, a mentality, a maturity. It’s all of it. Just understanding who I am better and what I need to do."

By channeling that improved, more consistent hitting into a dominant postseson performance, he also exorcised the demon that has been the NLDS, winning his first after multiple appearances in that round of competition.

It helps that he plays for a city that holds the team accountable and is invested in their journey to a world title.

"I feel like I’m hand-in-hand with them and vice versa," Harper said. "When you want to play hard, when you want to be in a city, when you want to be a factor in a city, that’s all they want to see. They just want you to play hard. That’s it. They want you to go out there and bust your ass each day. No excuses, good or bad. They don’t care. They just want you to keep doing it."

Harper has been vocal and energized in the dugout for his team, rooting on his team and firing up the fans in key moments this postseason. He has been the leader many expect him to be given his status and is a major reason the Phillies are three wins away from competing in their first World Series since 2009.

"When I think back in 2015, ’16, ’17, ’18 all the way through, Jayson Werth said, ‘There’s nothing like Philly when it’s winning,'" Harper said of his former Nationals teammate and World Series champion with the Phils.

Harper certainly hopes he and his teammates can keep it up against a gritty Padres team. If he, Alec Bohm, Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos can continue driving in runs, the Phillies will be a difficult out for either the Padres in this NLCS or whichever team represents the American League.