The inevitable end of the Bryce Harper era in Washington

This day, in spite of what his most ardent fans hoped, was always bound to come. From the moment the Nationals drafted him No. 1 in the country nearly nine years ago, folks began speculating where Bryce Harper would end up playing once he became a free agent.

Would it be New York, home to the most historically successful franchise and some of the most historically important players in baseball? Would it be Chicago, home to an iconic franchise and ballpark with a clubhouse already full of young stars? Would it be Los Angeles, home to all-time pitching greats and Hollywood star power? Would it be San Francisco, home to great fans and a beautiful ballpark and the sport's all-time home run king?

Or would it be Philadelphia, home to rabid fans who will forever love their sporting heroes - until they go through an 0-for-10 slump, that is - and a franchise that had been saving up big money for years specifically for this purpose?

The answer finally came Thursday afternoon, as these things so often do, with a sudden flurry of tweets first revealing Harper's destination and then the contract terms.

Reporters actually were in the visitors' clubhouse at jetBlue Park in Fort Myers to interview Max Scherzer - who had recently completed a dominant, three-inning start against the Red Sox, not that anyone cared anymore - as the details began to surface. Scherzer, as astute and interested in these kinds of things as any player in baseball, started openly speculating about terms before knowing the answer.

"I hope he gets a 10-year deal," the ace right-hander said. "Obviously he's in position, and I hope the game rewards him for that. What he's been able to accomplish at such a young age, he's deserving of a 10-year deal. You're talking about ages 26 through 36. That's good for the game of baseball, when the superstars get those types of terms in their contracts."

Only seconds later, a reporter checked his phone, saw the Harper terms on Twitter and shared the news with the group: 13 years for $330 million. Scherzer - owner of the largest free-agent contract ever given to a pitcher: seven years for $210 million - was genuinely happy for his now-former teammate.

"Obviously a 13-year deal, that's good for the game," he said. "To be that young, and to be a free agent ... you know, teams are flush with money, and it's good to see teams spend it."

There were no hard feelings from Scherzer toward Harper for leaving D.C. and signing with a division rival. Nor were there hard feelings from others in the clubhouse, including Davey Martinez and Juan Soto. They were excited for Harper to get paid handsomely, and they were excited at the prospect of now playing against him 19 times a year for the next 13 years.

Will Nationals fans feel the same way? Eh, probably not. Unlike with many superstars, there were a wide range of relationships between D.C. fans and Harper.

Some adored him, loved not only the power he brought to the ballpark but also the personality. For them, the lasting images of Bryce will be of him stealing home off Cole Hamels as a rookie, homering twice on opening day the following year, launching a fastball from Hunter Strickland into McCovey Cove to tie up Game 4 of the 2014 National League Division Series and screaming as he rounded the bases, putting the finishing touches on a unanimous MVP season in 2015 and celebrating amid a raucous sellout crowd on South Capitol Street as he won the Home Run Derby in dramatic fashion last summer.

Those were memories that will last a lifetime, among the greatest moments from this club's first 14 seasons in the District. And no matter what happens from this point forward, some fans will forever cling to those memories and because of that will cheer Harper each time he steps into the batter's box at Nationals Park wearing a Phillies uniform.

Others, however, merely tolerated Harper as a National. For them, the lasting images of Bryce will be of him crashing into the wall in right field and busting up his knee, brashly asking "Where's my ring?" after the Nats added Scherzer to a star-studded rotation, jogging down the first base line on routine grounders and popups, getting choked in the dugout by Jonathan Papelbon, looking lost at the plate through the first half of last season and then turning down a 10-year, $300 million offer that would've kept him a National for life.

Those images will never leave those fans' memory banks. And so no matter what happens from this point forward, they will boo Harper each time he steps into the batter's box at Nationals Park wearing a Phillies uniform.

There was never any middle ground with Bryce. As a player, he either was brilliant or awful. As a person, he either inspired or offended you.

And your reaction to Thursday's decision probably falls at one of the extreme ends of the spectrum. You either admire him for taking a contract (huge as it may be) that makes him only the 11th-highest paid player per year in baseball, doesn't include any opt-outs and is front-loaded in a manner that shouldn't prevent the Phillies from pursuing other stars down the road. Or you despise him for insisting he get the largest overall contract in American sports history and thus turned down what might have been a better opportunity to win with the Dodgers or Nationals.

Here's one thing everyone can agree on: Thank God it's finally over. These last four months have been torture. For everybody with any vested interest in this saga. That includes Harper, who perhaps insisted on the lack of opt-outs simply because he never wanted to have to go through this again.

The end resolution won't satisfy everyone. It probably doesn't satisfy many people at all in Washington right now. But at least it's over at last.

Despite what some may have hoped, despite the faint glimmer some may have been holding onto all these years, this day was inevitable.

Bryce Harper was a Washington National for seven seasons, and they just happened to be the best seven seasons in club history. But he was never going to be a Washington National for an eighth season.

It's up to each individual to decide how to reconcile that reality.