Bryce Harper did whatever he could to avoid looking at his numbers this season. He told his wife to not tell him what he was hitting, blocked his ears when friends brought up his MVP case, and swiped past them as quickly as he could whenever they fell into his social media feed.
Harper can now take a peek as those numbers helped him become first Phillies player in 14 years to win the National League’s MVP Award, which the right fielder claimed on Thursday night for the second time in his career in voting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
“I know that’s kind of crazy and it doesn’t make sense, but I don’t like MVP talk,” Harper said late in the season. “I don’t like looking at my numbers. I don’t like looking where I’m at or where I am in the second half, or anything like that. I just want to play my game. I just want to show up every night, make sure I’m playing right field, batting third, and helping this team win.”
Harper hit 35 home runs and drove in 84 runs while leading the majors in slugging percentage (.615), wOBA (.431), and OPS (1.044). His .309 average was the third-highest in the NL and his 78 extra-base hits led the NL. Harper posted a 1.188 OPS in the second half, nearly willing a flawed Phillies team into the postseason.
The award caps off a terrific offseason for Harper as he already claimed a Silver Slugger, the Hank Aaron Award, and the Players Association’s NL Outstanding Player Award. Harper topped Washington’s Juan Soto and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. for the MVP, becoming the first Phillies player since Jimmy Rollins to win the award.
The Phillies have failed to reach the postseason in Harper’s three seasons after he signed a $330 million contract. But he shouldered little blame for their latest playoff miss. One of their main goals this offseason is to find a power hitter to slot into the lineup and protect Harper, who was intentionally walked 14 times with runners in scoring position. Only three batters were intentionally walked more in those situations.
The Phillies have the MVP, but they need to find a way to protect him in the lineup. If they do, the MVP could be even better.
