Rookie of the Year: Bryce Harper, 2012

Outfielder, Washington Nationals

Age:  19

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 215 

Prior to 2012:

A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Harper was a baseball prodigy who made the cover of Sports Illustrated as a 16-year-old catcher/outfielder who dominated high school competition to the point that he dropped out of high school following his sophomore year to get his GED and fast-track his way into college. Highly driven and heavily hyped, Harper had impressive size and strength as he moved on to the Community College of Southern Nevada in 2010 where he batted .442 with 29 home runs and 89 RBIs in 62 games. Recipient of the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s best amateur player, a rare achievement for a community college ballplayer, Harper was the first overall pick of the 2010 amateur player draft by the Nationals. He signed for $9.9 million. Criticized while an amateur for his attitude and idiosyncratic behavior that included an elaborate batting ritual and heavy use of eye black, he hit .343 in 9 games with Scottsdale of the Arizona Fall League and vowed to make Washington’s opening day roster while hitting well in spring training in 2011. Being developed as an outfielder, he was instead assigned to Hagerstown of the Class A South Atlantic (or “Sally”) League where he batted .318 with 14 home runs, 46 RBIs, and a .423 on-base percentage in 72 games before being promoted to the Harrisburg Senators of the Class AA Eastern League where he finished out the season. Confident of playing for the Nationals in 2012, a spot was cleared for him in the outfield, although a hamstring injury slowed his progress in spring training and he started the season with Syracuse of the Class AAA International League, although he was soon called up to the Nationals.

2012 Season Summary

Appeared in 139 games

CF – 92, RF – 65, LF – 7, PH – 2, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 597

At Bats – 533

Runs – 98 [5]

Hits – 144

Doubles – 26

Triples – 9 [8]

Home Runs – 22

RBI – 59

Bases on Balls – 56

Int. Walks – 0

Strikeouts – 120

Stolen Bases – 18

Caught Stealing – 6

Average - .270

OBP - .340

Slugging Pct. - .477

Total Bases – 254

GDP – 8

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 3

Sac Flies – 3

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 15, 3B – 4, HR- 8, RBI- 25, AVG - .282., OBP - .354

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at NY Mets 9/11

Longest hitting streak – 9 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 5 AB) at Miami 8/29, (in 3 AB) vs. Chi. Cubs 9/5

HR at home – 10

HR on road – 12

Multi-HR games – 2

Most RBIs, game – 3 on five occasions

Pinch-hitting/running – 1 for 1 (1.000) with 3 R, 1 SB & 1 BB

Fielding

Chances – 326

Put Outs – 311

Assists – 8

Errors – 7

DP - 3

Pct. - .979

Postseason Batting: 5 G (NLDS vs. St. Louis)

PA – 23, AB – 23, R – 2, H – 3, 2B – 1,3B – 1, HR – 1, RBI – 2, BB – 0, IBB – 0, SO – 8, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .130, OBP - .130, SLG - .391, TB – 9, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

All-Star

30^th in NL MVP voting, tied with Johnny Cueto, Cin. (2 points, 0% share)

NL ROY voting (Top 5):

Bryce Harper, Wash.: 112 points – 16 of 32 first place votes, 70% share

Wade Miley, Ariz.: 105 points – 12 first place votes, 66% share

Todd Frazier, Cin.: 45 points – 3 first place votes, 28% share

Wilin Rosario, Col.: 12 points – 1 first place vote, 8% share

Nori Aoki, Mil.: 11 points – 7% share

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The Nationals went 98-64 to finish first in the NL Eastern Division by 4 games over the Atlanta Braves. With a deep and impressive roster that benefitted from Harper’s hitting and the pitching of Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg, who was shut down in September, the Nationals started fast and were in first place to stay by May 22. Lost NLDS to the St. Louis Cardinals, 3 games to 2, as the Cardinals put together a four-run rally in the ninth inning of the decisive Game 5 to win 9-7.

Aftermath of 2012:

Criticized for his cockiness as a rookie, Harper was plagued by injuries in 2013 and, limited to 118 games, he batted .274 with 20 home runs, 58 RBIs, and a .368 OBP, although he was voted onto the NL All-Star team. In 2014 a thumb injury that required surgery shelved him from late April until late June. Harper struggled at the plate upon his return to action although he hit 10 home runs in his last 46 games, finishing at .273 with 13 homers, 32 RBIs, and a .344 OBP. In the postseason loss to San Francisco in the NLDS, he hit .294 with three home runs. Harper followed up with a strong season in 2015 in which he led the NL in runs scored (118), home runs (42), OBP (.460), and slugging (.649) while batting .330 with 99 RBIs. In an otherwise disappointing season for the Nationals, he received unanimous league MVP recognition. A dugout fight with reliever Jonathan Popalbon that occurred near the end of the season provided a down note to Harper’s performance. A fast start in 2016 dwindled to 24 home runs, 86 RBIs, and a .243 average, although his 108 walks drawn helped him to a .373 OBP. Washington topped the NL East and fell to the Dodgers in the first round. In 2017 Harper hit .319 with 29 home runs, 87 RBIs, and a .413 OBP, although a knee injury cost him significant late-season playing time. Entering 2018 in the final year of his contract with the Nationals, there was speculation that he might be dealt, although he finished out the season with Washington and batted .249 with 34 home runs, 100 RBIs, and a .393 OBP thanks to his league-leading 130 walks drawn. Although healthy, he had uncharacteristic difficulties defensively. Turning down a reported 10-year, $300 million offer to stay with the Nationals, Harper signed with the Philadelphia Phillies during 2019 spring training for 13 years and $330 million. The Phillies finished at .500 for the first time in seven years and Harper overcame a slow start to hit .260 with 35 home runs, 114 RBIs, and a .372 OBP. In 2020’s pandemic-shortened season, Harper hit .268 with 13 home runs, 33 RBIs, and drew a league-leading 49 walks to produce a .420 OBP. In 2021 he batted .309 with a 35 home runs, 84 RBIs, and a .429 OBP while leading the league with 42 doubles and a .615 slugging percentage. He received NL MVP recognition for a second time. Harper started the 2022 season in right field but a shoulder injury caused him to be used as the club’s Designated Hitter the rest of the way (courtesy of major league baseball now adopting the DH universally). He hit .286 with 18 home runs, 65 RBIs, and a .364 OBP as the Phillies qualified for the postseason as the final wild card entry and made a surprising run to the World Series, losing to Houston in six games. Harper hit 6 home runs in 17 postseason games and was MVP of the NLCS win against San Diego. Following the season, he had major elbow surgery and had to miss the start of the 2023 season. For his major league career through 2022, Harper has batted .280 with 1379 hits that include 298 doubles, 23 triples, 285 home runs with 913 runs scored, 817 RBIs, 122 stolen bases, a .390 OBP, and a .523 slugging percentage. With the Nationals he batted .279 with 610 runs scored, 922 hits, 183 doubles, 18 triples, 184 home runs, 521 RBIs, 75 stolen bases, a .388 OBP, and a .512 slugging percentage. Appearing in 36 postseason games, he has hit .273 with 11 home runs, 23 RBIs, and a .358 OBP. A seven-time All-Star, he has received two Silver Sluggers and twice been National League MVP.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.