Bryce Harper was already anointed as baseball’s chosen one when he was just a kid in Las Vegas. At 16, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, getting compared to another great prodigy in LeBron James. The thing about prodigies is that nobody believes the hype until it’s in front of their eyes.
Well, here we are. Two MVPs and an NLCS MVP later, Harper is what everyone thought he’d be. The #1 overall pick in 2010 by the Nationals has turned that early hype into a career on a surefire Hall of Fame trajectory. He’s had a great to downright fantastic performance season, flying in the face of all the haters and doubters. Now, he’s secured something that eluded him for years as a National: a World Series appearance. He’s been the hero the Phillies needed to carry them past the destiny-fueled Cardinals, their boogeyman, the Braves, and even the surprising Padres.
Harper is now Houston-bound to take on a goliath in the Houston Astros. Let’s retrace the journey that has taken him to this moment at the precipice of baseball glory.
Bryce Harper Burst Onto the Scene With the Nationals in 2012
Bryce Harper came into the league amidst an air of hype. The expectations were sky-high for baseball’s top prospect, and he didn’t disappoint. With a 118 OPS+, he took home Rookie of the Year honors in 2012. Nobody respected Harper until 2015, however. The young National was voted the most overrated player in baseball two years in a row. Then, he had his statement year in 2015 with an absurd 198 OPS+, making him the runaway MVP winner. Add in three more great to stellar seasons, and the Nationals clearly had a star.
But he wasn’t just a statistical darling. Harper led the charge against the unwritten rules stalwarts. I get a lot of the frustration with him. Whenever a young guy comes in with the attitude of a superstar, ruffled feathers are a natural side effect. But it’s understated how instrumental Harper was in changing the landscape of how ballplayers are supposed to act. Thanks to his propensity to watch home runs, flip bats, and generally show emotion, he put a dagger in the stuffed shirt style of play plaguing the league since time immemorial. Thanks to his position as “the chosen one,” he was at the forefront with guys like Marcus Stroman and Adrian Beltre, paving the way for other young, fun, and expressive players to come.
Harper started making a legacy for himself in Washington. The only thing he couldn’t do with the team was take them on a deep postseason run. After signing up for the long haul in Philly, however, he’s officially put the doubts to bed.
After Signing With Philadelphia, He’s Been Just as Good
When Harper left his old home in Washington for Philly, the fans couldn’t have been angrier. So hated was he that he was even booed upon his return to Nationals Park. Even an NBC Sports Washington article famously asked why fans wouldn’t boo him on his first time back. Regardless of what people thought about his 13-year, $330 million deal, Harper continued being Harper. His first year in Philly, while seen by some as disappointing, was still great. Although he wasn’t an All-Star, he posted a .262/.370/.510 slash line, good for a 126 OPS+. That was his worst season in a Phillies uniform.
In the following three seasons, his OPS+ wouldn’t dip under 140, landing him squarely in the top 10 of all National League batters from 2020 through 2022 (though 2022 didn’t qualify due to injuries). To show that 2015 was no fluke, Harper even picked up a second MVP award in 2021, leading the league with a 179 OPS+.
Even from a cursory glance, it was easy to see how Harper changed Philly. With a depleted farm system following their previous playoff window, a new superstar was needed to pull them out of the doldrums. On a whole, the Phillies would jump nearly 40 points of OPS from 2018 to 2019 and would place in the top half of NL offenses by 2020. Once they added Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber, among others, everything started to coalesce around Harper. It all culminated in their excellent postseason run this year.
Harper Will Be the Key to a Phillies World Series Win
With Philadelphia now staring down the barrel of a terrifying Astros team, Bryce Harper is needed more than ever. So far, he elevated the Phillies in their various postseason matchups, slashing a historic .419/.444/.907 across the playoffs. At nearly every major moment, Harper was there to save Philly. The defining moment of these playoffs came from Harper with his Game 5 homer, sending the Padres packing. It’s for that reason he rightfully earned NLCS MVP honors. Even against that vaunted Houston rotation, he remains the single biggest obstacle to their second World Series title.
It’s hard to deny just how special Harper has been to every fanbase that’s had him. Maybe he didn’t take the Nationals all the way, and maybe he won’t do the same for the Phillies. At every turn, though, the one word that defines him is “impact.” He’s not the best MLB player, but he’s arguably the most impactful one since his debut. That, to me, lives up to the hype.
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