Harper gave Phillies’ fans pure value

There was not a particular game, or play, or at-bat that keyed the chant. There wasn’t a scoreboard prompt. There was nothing organized. There was nothing formal.

It was just organic. It was just spontaneous. It was just sincere, and it was just right. “M-V-P! … M-V-P!” the chorus went whenever Bryce Harper strolled to the plate. “M-V-P!”

Creative? No. But the popular recognition of Harper was different from all the other MVP yelling in pro sports, for it was pure. He wasn’t leading the league in home runs. Or RBIs. Or batting average. Or on-base percentage. Or fielding accuracy. Or stolen bases. Or slam-intothe-wall outfield plays.

Rather, the chanting was exactly what it was designed to be: A recognition from a fan base that something spectacular was happening before their eyes. Key word: Eyes. They didn’t need some sports scientist to analyze the statistics to tell them what they were seeing. They didn’t need to cross-reference their feelings with whatever else some other candidate might have been achieving. They didn’t need to look around for validation. If somebody on social media found it offensive, no one cared.

All the fans of the Phillies knew — and their baseballknowledge bona fides were not to be questioned — was that they were savoring something unlike anything they’d witnessed in a Philadelphia baseball stadium in the modern era.

They were noticing that Bryce Harper might not have been the best in the league at any one thing, but that he was the best in, to rent a term from gymnastics, the all-around competition.

“The MVP of the National League is Bryce Harper,” said Mike Schmidt, who’d won the award three times. “On Aug.

1, he put his team on his back, became the best player in the league, and stole it.”

MATT SLOCUM — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Phillies’ Bryce Harper, shown during a game in September against Baltimore, won his second career National League MVP Award Thursday.