Bryce Harper’s tenure in Philadelphia feels like a dream that I never want to end. You can pinch yourself all you want, but the truth of the matter is that the Phillies made arguably the greatest decision in franchise history by bringing Bryce Harper to Philadelphia.
For a guy who was put on the map at the age of 16, deemed “The Chosen One”, who grew up in front of millions of people, to become one of the most humble and accomplished players in the history of baseball, is truly amazing.
Bryce Harper may not have started his Hall of Fame career in Philadelphia, but his legendary run will end in Phillies pinstripes.
Bryce Harper hits home run number 300
Yesterday afternoon, Bryce Harper sailed his 300th career home run into the right field bleachers at Citizens Bank Park.
Bryce was ecstatic to reach this mark in his home ballpark and concluded an insane month of August.
Harper this past month hit .361 with an OPS of 1.236. He smacked 10 homeruns in just 26 games when he had just 5 in May, June, and July combined.
Bryce raised his OPS for the season from .793 on August 1st to .905 by the conclusion of Wednesday’s game against the Angels. This is an insane increase in that short of a span and practically takes him from being an above-average hitter to an elite hitter in terms of analytics.
We all know Harper is one of the best hitters in baseball today. His 300th home run only showcases those skills and highlights just how good the Phillies’ 1B/DH has been.
Hall of Fame Bound
Bryce Harper will certainly be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame at the end of his career.
Harper is a 2x National League MVP, 7x All-Star, 2x Silver Slugger, NLCS MVP, and a former Rookie of the Year.
He is 7 hits away from 1500, and will certainly surpass the 2,000 mark in the coming seasons. He is 21 runs away from 1,000 for his career and is 128 RBIs from the 1,000 mark. He could reach the runs mark by seasons’ end, but will undoubtedly have a chance to surpass both marks in 2024.
The former MVP has done it in the post-season as well. Nobody will ever forget Harper’s 2-run home run in Game 5 of the NLCS, giving the Phillies the lead and sending them to the World Series. Harper was amazing last October and his 11 career post-season home runs is nothing to sneeze over either.
What does the future hold?
As Harper continues to check off milestones in his career, he will certainly be providing the Phillies’ fanbase with many more memories. He constantly delivers when the team needs him the most and he has been worth every penny of his contract.
I speak for all fans when I say we are so grateful that the Bryce Harper signing has worked out the way it has and I know that Bryce won’t be satisfied until he brings a championship home to Philadelphia.
Last season the Phillies were two games away from accomplishing this feat. As we head into September, the Phillies should be gearing up to make another run. I look forward to seeing the show that number 3 puts on in the 2023 Post-Season.
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
