By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Even though Bryce Harper has been with the Philadelphia Phillies just over a week, he and manager Gabe Kapler already have a relationship that would make it seem they have worked together for years, not days.
Following his club debut on Saturday opposite the Toronto Blue Jays, in which he walked twice in as many plate appearances before a sellout crowd at Spectrum Field, Harper had nothing but praise for the Phillies' second-year skipper.
"He's great. Being able to talk to him, sit down with him and get to know him on a personal level … he really cares," Harper said. "He's genuine about what he does; he works hard, he's passionate. That's somebody you want at the helm. He's somebody that really works hard each and every day."
Bryce Harper Joked he was NOT sure if he liked Phillies manager Gabe Kapler last year but now is 100% a fan!
"When he looks better than half your team, also with a shirt off, it makes you want to work hard too. He's a great manager & I look forward to learning from him"@6abc pic.twitter.com/OX0U4I0356
— Jeff Skversky 6abc (@JeffSkversky) March 10, 2019
Likewise, Kapler views highly of his new star right fielder; in January, following his and the Phillies' brass meeting with Harper in Las Vegas, Kapler said they "really hit it off" and bonded "over stuff like training" and "food."
"[Bryce] loves food and Philadelphia has an incredible food scene, among the best in the country if you ask me," Kapler said on MLB Network. "Yeah, I think we just hit it off; he's an easy guy to talk to. He certainly is especially competitive."
Harper joked on Saturday that when he and his former team, the Washington Nationals, opposed the Phillies last season during the expanded rosters in September, Kapler "had 45 guys running around in the clubhouse."
"Switch this guy, switch that guy … and our game was like 5 1/2 hours," Harper joked. "So, it was kind of tough to go, 'yeah, I like this guy!' … When he looks better than half your team, also with a shirt off, it makes you want to work hard, too."
"He's a great manager and I look forward to learning from him and picking his brain a little bit more here and there, and just playing for him."
Harper will make his first appearance in Phillies red in the field on Monday, when the club hosts the Tampa Bay Rays at Spectrum Field.
