The MVP Case for Bryce Harper

Bryce Harper is carrying the Philadelphia Phillies on his back. While baseball is not a sport that allows for one player to will a team to contention (see, Trout, Ohtani), if Harper were not on the Phillies, they would not be sitting 5.5 games behind the beatable Atlanta Braves. At the end of the first half of the season, Harper was having an enjoyable year, but not MVP-worthy. He was slashing .282/.378/.520. As usual, his OBP was astonishing, yet no one was ever able to drive him in, nor, when he hit 14 home runs, was anyone ever on base. That changed in the second half though. In the second half, Harper is slashing .342/.486/.725. 

Overall, for the season, he is slashing .311/.433/.617. He leads the majors in slugging, and OPS, which, all things considered, is an interesting feat. He has carried the Phillies into a competitive position, which arguably would not be happening but for his monstrous second half. 

But is a monstrous second half enough? When considering the first half of the season, the MVP was a two-horse race between Jacob deGrom and Fernando Tatis Jr. Anyone else would be lucky to get one vote. But now, the field has changed. DeGrom’s injury makes him noncompetitive, while the other candidates like Austin Riley and Juan Soto don’t have the cache that often is required of an MVP candidate.

Harper’s passion for the game is unmatched, always driving teammates to share the passion. Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

So, that leaves us with the elephant in the room. What about everyone’s favorite guy (except maybe Manny Machado’s), Tatis Jr.? The San Diego Padres are the most disappointing team in all of baseball this year. With many predicting they would make it to the World Series, their collapse frustrates fans and journalists alike. Their collapse is a trademark collapse caused by people putting too many expectations on, let’s face it, a flawed roster. The fight between Machado and Tatis was imminent, tensions had risen and the writing was on the wall: The NL West favorite Padres couldn’t even clinch a playoff spot and are struggling to finish with a winning record. 

So, while Harper was carrying the freight, what did his cross-country rival do? Tatis’ second half has seen a dip in his power numbers. In the first half, his slugging was .656, and OPS lead the league with 1.020. In the second half, his slugging dipped to .548, and his OPS .918. Both great, and above league average, but, as Harper continued to make a push, Tatis fell behind.

What does this have to do with Harper? Well, unlike the American League’s soon-to-be MVP, Ohtani, the NL could honor a player that helped their team compete. Certainly, the Phillies are more competitive than the Padres are. The Phillies still stand a chance to make the playoffs with one week to go, while the Padres were eliminated last week.

This presents one of the biggest arguments in baseball: what does MVP mean? Baseball is not a sport that rewards one player carrying the team. At best, that player is getting up 4 times in a game, and often it is beyond his control if he even sees a pitch to hit. And, unlike the other major sports, this MVP is given in both leagues, making it a bit less competitive. But then, what would baseball be if it didn’t throw a wrench into things and add pitchers to the list of worthy MVP winners-despite pitchers having an award of their own, the Cy Young. 

The key here is that above all else, baseball has chosen to stay consistent with other sports in awarding the Most Valuable Player award to an outstanding player, in both leagues. While baseball shares a different name for injured players, (injured list compared to injured reserve), why then should we not consider value when evaluating a player for MVP? I understand both sides to this argument, and in lots of years, players are performing so well above their competition that they deserve to win it even if their team is out of contention by June (ahem, Angels). But this year is different. We are already arguably just discounting Vladamir Guerrero Jr.’s amazing year because he does not pitch. People are dismissing Vlad’s triple crown threat in a cavalier fashion, and giving Ohtani the MVP already. Ohtani deserves it, but it’s not a slam dunk as journalists argue. 

Bryce Harper hopes to silence the Tatis lovers and force the Phillies into the playoffs. Does he have enough time left to pull off a miracle? AP Photo/Ben Margot

So then, I beg journalists to reconsider when they vote for the NL MVP. Tatis may be the flashy choice, but he, like Harper many years ago, wasn’t a team player for much of the stretch. Reports came about that he was pouting in the clubhouse for weeks, frustrated at his team’s collapse. Tatis is a superstar and will compete for MVPs for years to come. He has the world obsessed with him, having an MLB Network film about him. Harper, having gone through the “chosen one” phase nearly 10 years ago, likely knew what was more important: winning. He contributed to his team down the stretch. He is the reason we sit here, six games left, waiting for the Phillies to do something. Further, the Phillies didn’t even have many expectations for them this year. And still, Harper showed up.

Ultimately, Harper is the MVP. Regardless of whether the Phillies make the playoffs or not, his selfless mindset, monstrous second half, and ability to compete are all things journalists should consider when voting. He adds value to a sports city that is already so frustrated. We have taken Harper for granted for so many years. He didn’t even get an All-Star Game selection this year. He was robbed once. Don’t do it again.