Why Bryce Harper does the ‘I love you’ hand sign after a home run

A beautiful gesture. Here’s the story behind it.

It’s a hand gesture you might have seen Bryce Harper do while rounding the bases — particularly when he was heading toward second after hitting what would be the NLCS-clinching home run against the San Diego Padres.

It’s his thumb, pointer and pinkie held up, commonly known as the sign for “I love you.”

So who’s that for? It turns out it’s for his mother.

Harper has spoken about it in the past in a video (see below) in which he read a letter to his mom and mentioned that she had once given him the I Love You sign and he had never forgotten it. So when he flashes the sign, it’s for her.

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