On February 28th, Bryce Harper finally found a home to
Phillie Phanatic happy after Bryce Harper signing
play for the upcoming baseball season. Well, for the next 13 seasons, to be exact. Harper signed a 13 year, 330-million-dollar deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, signing away the rest of his career to red pinstripes. The deal shook the Baseball World for many reasons. First, Harper’s deal gave him to most guaranteed money and years in baseball history, beating out Giancarlo Stanton’s deal with the Yankees last season for 13 years and 325 million dollars. That is itself is a crazy amount of money.
Secondly, it gives the Philadelphia Phillies arguably the deepest lineup in the National League. Harper will likely bat third in the lineup, behind Jean Segura and ahead of Rhys Hoskins. The Phillies play in Citizens Bank Park, located just outside of the city of Philadelphia. In the stadium’s history, for players with at least 200 plate appearances, Bryce Harper is first all time in Slugging Percentage. His numbers are crazy, including 14 home runs. This may not seem like much, but Harper only played eight to ten games a year in that ball park. Now, he will play 81. It is also important to note that the player second on that list mentioned above is Rhys Hoskins, his now teammate and “batting partner.” The deal also is
Harper talking with Hoskins
a huge positive for the Phillies, as they signed him away from the Washington Nationals, their division rival and Harper’s former home of seven years.
Thirdly, and what most people overlook, the deal settled another battle between baseball super-agents Scott Boras and Dan Lozano. Throughout the offseason, the Baseball World debated who would get more money, Machado or Harper. With this, it was clear the agents wanted to get the better deals, both in terms of years and guaranteed money. Lozano is known for getting deals done quickly with his clients, and Boras is known to drag out the process until he gets what he wants, which is typically more money. A few days prior to Harper’s deal, Machado signed with the San Diego Padres for 10 years, 300 million dollars. Boras, thus, got the number to beat for the Phillies. After 118 days of negotiation, they beat Machado and Stanton.
Bryce Harper at Home Run Derby
I have two questions for you guys – first, what do you think about the deal? Is it too much money? Why exactly does an athlete need 300 million dollars, let alone 330? Also, the league is likely going to implement the DH position to the National League. If Harper plays all 13 years, he will likely play DH when they add the position. Would the DH be a good idea to add to the National League? Or, should the NL keep pitchers hitting? Curious to hear your thoughts on the topic!
Thank you for reading. Signing off, Woz.
Hi Woz, new reader to the site here. Was lookin’ for some hot takes on the Living Legend that is Bryce Harper, and wow, this is a good one. Super well written. I can really tell through your writin’ that you are passionate about the future Hall of Famer and baseball in general – as a reader, I really appreciate that. Honestly, I don’t know a lot about baseball, other than how truly good Bryce Aron Max Harper is – especially as such a young age of 26 – so I’m glad I fell upon your site. $330 million – WOW! That is a ton of money. Since he’s from Vegas, I bet he’ll be hittin’ those jackpots just like he’ll be hittin’ those ground balls off of Mars, if you know what I’m sayin’. Kid can flat out BALL. Philly really got a stud here, even if he can’t play to his normal self for all 13 years of the contract. Oh, and I love how you captured the Phanatic’s pure joy and emotion in that first picture. Beautifully executed. Thanks for the professional insight, Woz.