When the Phillies landed superstar outfielder Bryce Harper in early March of 2019 on a 13yr/$330M free agent contract, there was a culture change for Philadelphia. The Phillies hadn’t reached the postseason since 2011, and with the acquisition of one of the best talents in baseball, fans and the organization expected winning baseball once again. 

Bryce Harper has done his part in 2021 to affect a winning brand of baseball, but unfortunately the rest of the club has not followed suit. Harper has had an outstanding season for the Phillies this year, his best so far, and is currently favored to win the National League MVP following the season’s end in a few short weeks. 

Harper had had a solid couple seasons before this one for the Phillies – he was racking up RBIs and being the clubhouse leader, but not performing at an MVP caliber rate like he has this season. Harper won the MVP in 2015, but nobody in Philadelphia expected him to return to that form coming into this season for the Phillies. 

He didn’t start the season extraordinarily, but since June he’s absolutely torn the cover off the baseball. Opposing pitchers are scared to see Bryce Harper in the batter’s box as of late. It’s warranted, as the damage he’s done this year should be feared – he’s hitting for contact, power, and taking his walks. His at-bats look like perfection at the plate. In total thus far, his numbers roll in at a .313 BA, 33HR, and an astounding 5.5 WAR. He’s even been praised for his hustle on the basepaths and his arm in right field. He’s done everything he can to help this club as a leader in winning baseball games, though they sit only a few games over .500. He’s basically the only reason the Phillies are still relevant at this stage in September. Harper wasn’t selected for this year’s All-Star game, but that didn’t seem to bother the 6x selectee, who would’ve denied the invitation this year to rest and focus on the Phillies. He’s put on night-in and night-out for this city with memorable bomb after memorable bomb. Fans nor the organization expect Harper to perform at this rate every season, but it’s nice knowing his large contract has been worth it if he puts together a few more seasons similar to these. Harper’s met the expectations and then some this year and as a Philadelphia fan, you have to love it. It’ll truly be a shame if a special talent in today’s game like Harper doesn’t see postseason baseball this year because of his ball club.