Phillie Phavorite: Harper easily tops tally
Bryce Harper knew just how to endear himself to the locals when he joined the Philadelphia Phillies in 2019. He signed a contract without an opt-out clause, showing loyalty to a city that demands it. He adopted the Eagles as his favorite football team, dropping the hated Dallas Cowboys. He formed a bromance with the most beloved creature in town, the Phillie Phanatic, paying regular tribute to the mascot with headbands, cleats and even a green sport coat.
“It’s a blast going to play baseball every single day in this great city,” Harper said Thursday night, adding later, “Being around the fans that we have, all they want you to do is work hard and try to win and try to be a great player each and every night.”
Indeed, the easiest way to the heart of any fan base is to be the best player in the league. The baseball writers certified it for Harper on Thursday, voting him the winner of the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award for the second time in his career, and his first as a Phillie.
Harper, a right fielder, received 17 of 30 first-place votes, ahead of Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals, who had six, and Fernando Tatis of the San Diego Padres, who had two. Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants had four firstplace votes but finished fourth in total points.
As well as Harper played, the Phillies finished 82-80 and missed the playoffs to extend their drought to 10 seasons. The American League MVP, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, also played for a team that missed the postseason. It is fairly common for one of the MVPS to miss the playoffs, but this was the first nonstrike year since 1987 in which both failed to do so.
The Phillies, who finished 6 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the NL East, would not have contended at all without Harper. He played every game in the second half, coming back from a beaning by the Cardinals’ Genesis Cabrera in St. Louis on April 28. Harper missed seven of the Phillies’ next eight games and struggled at times to regain his form.
“Everybody goes through ups and downs in a season; my upand-down was getting hit with a 97 mile-an-hour fastball right in the cheek, and then it hitting off and tapping into my wrist,” Harper said.
Harper was passed over for a spot on the NL All-star team, but he rested with family and then punished opponents after the break with a 1.188 OPS — compared with .684 for all of the other Phillies. Overall, Harper led the majors in OPS (1.044) and doubles (42) while batting .309 with 35 homers and 13 stolen bases.
He is the sixth Phillies player to win the MVP, after Chuck Klein, Jim Konstanty, Mike Schmidt, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins.