Bryce Harper is BACK
(Photo by Matt Slocum/ The Associated Press via Denver Post)
2012 was a hell of a year for baseball. Bryce Harper and Mike Trout took the MLB by storm and became household names. Trout is widely renowned as the GOAT, but Harper was easily the most exciting player in baseball.
Who had more drip than Bryce Harper from 2012-2015? That's right, no one. Kids everywhere were wearing their sunglasses on the back of their hat and smearing their eyeblack. It’s no secret, he hasn’t been the MVP-caliber player he was in a long time, and many had written him off… until now.
Harper is a -270 favorite to win the 2021 National League MVP, and has been the heart of a Phillies lineup that is trying to make a playoff push. Harper is having a year second only to his MVP season in 2015, hitting .311 while leading the league in slugging percentage (.617) and OPS (1.049).
Harper’s down years were still average for an MLB player, but far below average for a guy who is supposed to lead a clubhouse. The Phillies signed Harper to a 13 year, $330 million contract in 2019, which at the time was the largest in history. Harper’s lack of production while making an unfathomable amount of money made him very easy to dislike, but he’s played a massive role in the Phillies postseason push. He was on the brink of Albert Pujols in Anaheim territory, but finally turned it around after the all-star break this season.
Before the break, Harper looked like it was going to be another disappointing season. Harper has been a force to be reckoned with in the second half of the season, he’s getting on base almost half the time (.480 OBP), and had a 1.192 OPS in the last 69 games. In the first 68, Harper’s OBP was .378 and his OPS was .899.
Harper debuted as a 19 year-old and has already experienced the natural ups and downs of an MLB career in his nine years in the league. Baseball is better when its stars are performing to their best, and is a breath of fresh air to see Harper return to his former state of absolutely crushing the baseball.