Phillies World Series Champions Bowa, Myers React to Latest Harper, Machado Rumor

By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor

Albeit coming from the New York Post, the latest rumor regarding the Philadelphia Phillies and their potential acquisitions of free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado — stating that neither "particularly like" Philadelphia — surely garnered much attention on Wednesday.

Less than 24 hours later, two former Phillies players Larry Bowa and Brett Myers — who won it all 28 years apart in 1980 and 2008, respectively — shared their views on Thursday regarding the stars and what it takes to play in Philadelphia.

Larry Bowa

Bowa — one of the Phillies' senior advisors to General Manager Matt Klentak — on MLB Network Radio:

"We get a bad rap playing in Philly, I don't know why. [The fans] will let you know when you're not doing your job, but they will also let you know when you are doing your job. … It's a city where if you're going to come here, you better have some mental toughness because if you're one of those laid back guys, it's going to be hard to play here.

[The fans] are very critical of you when things don't go right. I'm a firm believer that if I didn't play in Philadelphia, I might not have played in the big leagues very long. I felt like, 'I better be ready to play here, because they're going to let you know.'

I was also able to reap the benefits of how much they adore you when you win. We had a parade, just like [Brad Lidge's] team did. It's the greatest moment that I've ever been through in baseball, and obviously winning the first World Series left a great mark on my career, as well as Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski, Pete Rose, Steve Carlton … we had an outstanding team.

It's a tough place to play, but it's a fun place to play. You just got to bring it every night. It's an attitude that I don't think you can teach. You have to have that, and it's got to come out every single night. Obviously, a couple quotes Machado made didn't go over well here in Philadelphia, so hopefully they smooth that over a little bit.

There's a lot of plusses here, believe me. It's a great city. Downtown is a great area. The restaurants are great. The fans are great; they're a little hungry right now. They got spoiled. Brad's reign here spoiled them, and before he got here, I guess my reign spoiled them until they got their championship.

But, when it's all said and done and you put a winner out there, they come out and support you every single day.

Brett Myers

While Bowa took to the airwaves on Thursday, Myers resorted to social media. On Twitter, quote tweeting an article reporting Harper and Machado "don't like the idea of playing in Philadelphia," Myers tweeted:

Some people just don’t have the heart to play in #Philly! They are afraid to fail there cuz the fans will hold them accountable but they don’t know how they will be treated if they win! Best city in the world to play for!

In response to a fan, Myers said neither Harper nor Machado are willing to accept the "pressure" Philadelphia will "put on them to perform."

It is certainly interesting to hear perspectives from players of the club's two World Series championships regarding players the Phillies hope could secure their third parade down Broad Street.

Time will tell if the New York Post's report was actually the truth, or rather a simple ploy to drive up the Phillies' offer.