Outfielder, Washington
Nationals
Age: 22
4th season
with Nationals
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’3” Weight: 215
Prior to 2015:
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. He put in considerable time in center field as
well as in right on his way to receiving NL Rookie of the Year recognition. He
finished by batting .270 with 22 home runs, 59 RBIs, a .340 OBP, and a .477
slugging percentage. In his first taste of postseason action, he hit .130 and
struck out eight times in the NLDS loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. 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.
2015 Season Summary
Appeared in 153
games
RF – 140, CF – 13,
DH – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 654 [13]
At Bats – 521
Runs – 118 [1]
Hits – 172 [9]
Doubles – 38 [5,
tied with four others]
Triples – 1
Home Runs – 42 [1,
tied with Nolan Arenado]
RBI – 99 [5,
tied with Kris Bryant]
Bases on Balls
– 124 [2]
Int. BB – 15 [2,
tied with Joey Votto]
Strikeouts – 131
Stolen Bases – 6
Caught Stealing
– 4
Average - .330
[2]
OBP - .460 [1]
Slugging Pct. -
.649 [1]
Total Bases – 338
[2]
GDP – 15
Hit by Pitches
– 5
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 4
League-leading
runs scored were +7 ahead of runner-up A.J. Pollock
League-leading
OBP was +.001 ahead of runner-up Joey Votto
League-leading
slugging pct was +.074 ahead of runner-up Nolan Arenado
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 21, HR- 26, RBI- 61, AVG - .339., OBP - .464, SLG – .704
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Most hits, game
– 3 on thirteen occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 10 games
Most HR, game –
3 (in 4 AB) vs. Miami 5/6
HR at home – 23
HR on road – 19
Multi-HR games
– 5
Most RBIs, game
– 5 vs. Miami 5/6, vs. Atlanta 5/8
Pinch-hitting – No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 313
Put Outs – 297
Assists – 9
Errors – 7
DP - 2
Pct. - .978
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
Silver Slugger
All-Star
(Started for NL in RF)
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Bryce Harper,
Wash.: 420 points – 30 of 30 first place votes, 100% share
Paul Goldschmidt,
Ari.: 234 points – 56% share
Joey Votto, Cin.:
175 points – 42% share
Anthony Rizzo,
ChiC.: 162 points – 39% share
Andrew
McCutchen, Pitt.: 139 points – 33% share
---
The Nationals
went 83-79 to finish second in the NL Eastern Division, 7 games behind the
division-winning New York Mets while leading the league in fewest triples (13).
Amid high expectations, the Nationals struggled through a 10-13 April but
caught fire in May and entered June in first place in the NL East at 28-22.
With injuries taking a toll, the club had difficulty holding on to first and
entered the All-Star break at 48-39. A two-game series sweep by the Mets in
early August knocked the Nationals into second place, where they remained the
rest of the way but the failure to meet expectations led to the dismissal of
manager Matt Williams. Harper’s outstanding performance could not be dimmed by
a dugout fight with reliever Jonathan Popalbon that occurred near the end of
the season.
Aftermath of 2015:
Harper’s 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 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 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. He returned sooner than anticipated and was the team’s DH through the All-Star break. Having worked out at first base during his recovery, he played the position for the first time later in July. He went on to bat .293 with 21 home runs, 72 RBIs, and a .401 OBP and .499 slugging percentage in 126 games. The Phillies again made the postseason, falling short of a return to the World Series with a ALCS loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Harper contributed 5 home runs and 8 RBIs in the playoffs. For his major league career through 2023, Harper has batted .281 with 1513 hits that include 327 doubles, 24 triples, 306 home runs with 997 runs scored, 889 RBIs, 133 stolen bases, a .391 OBP, and a .521 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 49 postseason games, he has hit .276 with 16 home runs, 31 RBIs, a .383 OBP, and a .613 slugging percentage. A seven-time All-Star, he has received two Silver Sluggers and twice been National League MVP.
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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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