Bryce Harper, New Era unveil limited edition Harper’s Heroes caps

This afternoon in Washington, D.C.’s Nationals Park, Nats’ slugger Bryce Harper and New Era unveiled a limited edition baseball cap collection he designed for Harper’s Heroes, a charity for children who are or have battled cancer. A portion of the proceeds from the cap sales will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Harper, Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo and New Era executive Bill Adams spoke to reporters about the project and about Harper’s commitment to helping children who battle the disease.

‘‘It’s an honor for me to be here today, as we announce this charitable part of his partnership with New Era,” Rizzo said in an opening statement.

“We all know the Bryce Harper on the field, a big power hitter, big defensive player that type of thing, but the person that I’ve come to know in Bryce Harper, the charitable person, is second to none.

“I’m really proud of what he has become as a man and as an ambassador and I couldn’t be prouder to be here on this day.”

“His work with children suffering from cancer is remarkable and I’m really happy to be here today and to be a part of this additional commitment that he’s made.”

“This is something that really hits home for me,” an emotional Harper said, noting that he had a couple friends and family members who have dealt with cancer.

Rizzo said that he was proud of what Harper has done both on the field and off it to help people and proud to have him as the so-called “face of the franchise”.

“We’ve been proud of him since the day he stepped foot in here, and he’s a credit to the Nationals’ organization,” Rizzo said.

“When we talk about faces of the franchise, you couldn’t have a better ambassador, not only for the game of baseball, and Major League Baseball, but also this city, the District of Columbia here in Washington.

“He’s a true Washingtonian in his heart and he loves the area, loves the fan base and I think that he’s a young player who is making an impact on and off the field which endears him to our fan base here in Washington and to us here in the front office.”

As for the caps themselves, Harper explained his thinking in coming up with the design.

“I really enjoy the fashion side of it,” Harper said, which everyone who follows him on social media knows by now.

“I really went in there thinking about a vintage kind of style of cap that people could wear with anything, if they want to wear it to the ballpark or if they want to wear it going to the grocery store or anything.”

And the ski cap design?

“The ski cap, I was thinking that was something, maybe they could wear in the playoffs.”