Harper got off to a fast start in 2013, hitting 2 home runs on Opening Day and 10 in his first 35. His 22 home runs were second-best ever for a 19-year-old (behind Boston’s Tony Conigliaro in 1964). For perspective, Harper’s 5.2 WAR is the highest for a 19-year-old player in the history of baseball. He hit 22 home runs with 59 RBI, a 118 OPS+, and, thanks to terrific defense in center and right field, a 5.2 WAR. With Scott Boras as his agent (then and now), he signed less than one minute before the August 16th, 2010 deadline for 5 years and $9.9 million.Īfter playing just 130 games in the minor leagues, Harper made his MLB debut at the age of 19 on April 28, 2012, and became an instant sensation. 443 with 31 home runs and 98 runs batted in.Ī catcher in high school and his one year in Junior College, the Nationals drafted Harper as an outfielder. He played for the College of Southern Nevada in the spring of 2010, hitting. He became eligible for the MLB player draft at the age of 17 thanks to earning a GED in October after his sophomore year at Las Vegas High School. Bryce Harper Career Highlightsīryce Harper was always a little bit ahead of other players when it came to his development as a baseball player. It has been updated to include his 2022 postseason performance. This piece was originally posted in March 2019. (cover photo: Associated Press/Matt Rourke) Career: 142 OPS+, 42.5 WAR ( Wins Above Replacement).In this piece, I’ll take a look at the rollercoaster that has been the first 11 seasons of his career and how that predicts a possible Cooperstown plaque in the future.Įmbed from Getty Images Cooperstown Cred: Bryce Harper (RF) He turned 30 on October 16th.įrom the moment he was selected as the #1 overall pick in the 2010 draft by the Nationals, Bryce Harper was viewed as a Hall of Famer in the making. If the ’31 Phils are fortunate enough to make that season’s playoff party, Harper will turn 39 during the playoffs. Unless Harper consents to a trade at some time in the next 9 years, he’ll be in a Phillies uniform through the year 2031. Harper’s deal with Philadelphia contains a full no-trade clause but also, unlike most nine-figure deals in MLB, does not have an opt-out clause for the player. Under former bench coach Rob Thomson, however, Philadelphia caught fire, going 65-46 in their final 111 tilts despite a September swoon in which they lost 10 out of 13. Regardless of that September slump, the Phillies made it to the playoffs just in time for the team (and their superstar Harper) to get hot.Īfter spending the first 7 years of his career with the Washington Nationals, Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies in March 2019. The Phillies got off to such a slow start in 2022 (22-29 after 51 games) that manager Joe Girardi was fired. Harper has hit six home runs this October/November, with the signature blow coming in the decisive Game 5 of the NLCS, when he clubbed a two-run homer in the bottom of the 8th against the San Diego Padres’ Robert Suarez, which turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead and, eventually, a 4-to-1 series win and an unlikely berth in the Fall Classic. Harper’s numbers in 2022 (.286 BA, 18 HR, 65 RBI, 145 OPS+) aren’t in the same league as those he logged in his 2021 MVP campaign (.309 BA, 35 HR, 84 RBI, 179 OPS+) but they were good enough to help the Phillies make it to the postseason. Additionally, although Harper suffered both a torn UCL in his right elbow and a fractured thumb this year, he was able to log 426 plate appearances in 99 games thanks to the newly implemented designated hitter rule in the National League. As the third-place team in the National League East (with 87 wins), the Phils made the playoff party as the third Wild Card and #6 seed thanks to Major League Baseball’s newly expanded 12-team playoff system. Harper and the Phillies are fortunate to be in the postseason. 211 batting average in his first 19 career postseason games from 2012-17, has emerged as a postseason star in 2022 he’s now hit 6 home runs with 13 RBI this October and November to go along with a. The 30-year-old Harper, who struggled to a. Tonight, in the first World Series game to be played in Philadelphia since 2009, two-time Most Valuable Player Bryce Harper hit the first pitch he saw deep to right field for a two-run home run, one which propelled the Phillies to an easy win and 2-to-1 series lead over the favored Houston Astros.
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