![]() Getting the record contract-since surpassed by Trout-and signaling that he was in Philadelphia for the long haul were calculated messages. When the ink was dry, however, Harper said it was his choice not to include any such language, as a sign of his commitment to the team. Most similar deals contain option years and opt-out clauses but just days before Harper signed on the dotted line, it was reported that the final holdup on the contract was the Phillies’ unwillingness to provide an opt-out. The Phillies and Harper landed on a total value just barely high enough to eclipse Giancarlo Stanton’s record, when the average annual value of the deal-just shy of $25.4 million-was in actuality a bit shy of superstar-level money. Harper could play out the whole deal and still hit free agency again just after turning 39.īut like Harper, the deal was also constructed to portray a certain image. And its length suited a player who’d been a Sports Illustrated cover athlete at 16, a Golden Spikes winner at 17, an All-Star at 19, and an MVP at 22. It was the biggest contract in MLB history at the time, appropriate for a six-time All-Star and MVP. When Harper signed his 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies in 2019, the contract perfectly encapsulated the player. This is why the Phillies gave him the richest contract in American organized sports two years ago-because he could turn in an MVP-caliber season like this one. He’s been the best hitter in the National League this season, on a team that’s needed every stroke of offense in order to maintain even tenuous contact with the playoff bubble. 569 with men on base, his wRC+ is 169, third highest among qualified hitters. ![]() He’s been at his best when his team has needed him the most, hitting. Replace Harper with an average offensive player-Michael Conforto, for example, who is within a run of average by this metric-and the Phillies would end up 26th, 80.1 runs in the red.Īnd while narratives matter less than ever in awards voting, Harper’s got a doozy of a story. The Phillies collectively are a minus-30.9 in that stat, which ranks 17th and is not half bad for a team that’s started Ronald Torreyes in more than half its games. And despite missing 21 games, he’s in the top three in both fWAR and WARP among position players.įanGraphs rates Harper’s offense as being worth 49.2 runs this year, second in baseball behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The 28-year-old right fielder is currently tied for the league lead in wRC+ among qualified hitters, and leads outright in slugging percentage. Peak Barry Bonds–level production, in other words, albeit in a small sample.Īnyone who’s followed Mike Trout’s career knows that there are limits to how much one baseball player-particularly a position player-can do to help his team win. In that time, he’s hit 11 home runs and posted an OBP of. ![]() Harper has reached base in 15 consecutive games, and in 27 out of 28 games in the past month. He put the Phillies up with a double in the sixth and iced the game with a mammoth homer an inning later.īryce to extend the lead! /y6GL9CU7wc- NBC Sports Philadelphia September 17, 2021 When they turned a 7-0 deficit into a 17-8 win over the Cubs last Thursday, Harper went 3-for-4 with two walks. And Harper has been instrumental in that effort. Since last week, the Phillies-a team most charitably described as streaky-have cut their deficit in the NL East in half. But as much of the rest of the team has been struck down by injury or maintained a frustratingly fleeting relationship with competence, Harper has pulled everyone’s weight. Perhaps this metaphor is unkind to a few of Harper’s teammates: Jean Segura, Cy Young contender Zack Wheeler, or surprising 26-year-old Ranger Suárez, who’s having the 2012 Kris Medlen season, only left-handed. It was then that Bryce Harper carried the Phillies. A trench plowed out by one man, dragging a fully laden and beached cargo barge across the desolate shore. Imagine, then, on a similar allegorical beach, finding one set of footprints that stretch for only a few paces, after which they’re engulfed by a humongous slash riven through the dirt. It’s usually found hanging in a cutesy little frame above the hand towels-the story about God and footprints in the sand: “Where you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.” If you’ve ever peed in a suburban powder room, you know the line.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |