Bryce Harper: From Overrated to Outstanding

Overtime Heroics Editorial

579 days ago

Before this season began, Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper was unanimously voted as the most overrated player in baseball. He has been tagged with the title of overrated ever since he signed his deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. However, this season was one of Harper’s best seasons.

He put up the second-best batting average of his career at .309. The second-highest amount of home runs he has had in a season with 35. In addition, he put up the second-most doubles of his career with 42, the second-highest OPS rating of his career with 1.044, the second-highest slugging percentage of his career with .615, and the second-highest OPS+ of his career with 179. Harper during the 2021 campaign has put up some of the best numbers of his entire career. Harper was playing some of the best baseball of his career and with the great numbers that he put up, he also is the recipient of the National League Outstanding Player in the 2021 player"s choice awards.

Harper went from being voted by his peers as the most overrated player to being voted as one of the best. This narrative that Bryce Harper is so overrated, may start to disappear, especially with how well he played this past season in 2021. Harper nearly carried the Phillies to their first playoff appearance since 2011. He also helped lead them to their first winning record since 2011. Harper is the backbone and the heart and soul of this Phillies roster. In addition to being named the National League Outstanding Player in the player"s choice awards, Harper finds himself in the running for the National League MVP award. This is an award Harper hasn"t been nominated for since 2015 when he actually won the award.

Bryce Harper is continuing to show that he is the real deal, the idea of him being overrated is starting to disappear as it is showing that he can lead a team. Now granted, the Phillies didn"t make the playoffs, however, the reason that they were in contention in the National League East for so long is because of Harper"s elite play in the second half of the season. Because of this, we can say that Bryce Harper is truly an outstanding player and should lose the idea of him being the most overrated player in baseball.

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