Bryce Harper’s First World Series with the Phillies

After an improbable season, Bryce Harper and Philadelphia Phillies made it to the World Series by beating the San Diego Padres in five games. They were the last team to make it to the playoffs and now have the chance to play the Yankees or Astros in the World Series. Bryce Harper was the leader of the team to get them to this point. Throughout his years in the major leagues, this Harper has had to face many obstacles in the playoff, and he finally overcame the challenge to get the chance to win a world championship.

Harper’s Playoff Series Woes

Bryce Harper has been in the league since 2021 as a 19-year-old. With the Nationals, he hit .280 and 184 home runs. Harper was the centerpiece of that Nationals team and reached multiple playoff series that always fell through. His best season in Washington was his 2015 season with 42 home runs, 99 runs batted in, and a .330 batting average, a 2015 most valuable player.

In the playoffs with the Nationals Bryce Harper and his teams never had success with Nationals. In his first playoff series with the Nationals Harper was not able to make it out of the NLDS losing in dramatic fashion in some of those games. The Nationals were set up as a team to make deep runs in the playoffs but ran into great teams like the Giants, Dodgers, and Cardinals.

Harper in the postseason has not been able to have great success. In his time in Washington, Harper only had one postseason where he hit over .290. In total, he hit 10 home runs and 10 runs batted in for the four postseason appearances with the Nationals. With all the postseason struggles he decided to move on in free agency.

Bring Philadelphia to the Promised Land

Bryce Harper in Philadelphia has had a solid career so far with a lot of success. He won the MVP in 2021 with 35 home runs and 84 runs batted in. But from 2019 to 2021 he was unable to lead his team to the postseason. The big problem for the Phillies during those years was the pitching staff and the bullpen not being able to keep them in games. Meanwhile, the Phillies as a whole hadn’t been to the World Series since 2009.

This postseason, Harper has been a catalyst for the Phillies offense. Through eleven games this postseason Harper has five home runs, and 11 runs batted in while hitting .419. He has been able to get on base in many different ways which have helped the Phillies lineup produce pressure on opposing pitchers.

This season has been a different story though. Even though the team struggled throughout the season and Harper was out for 63 games he was able to help the Phillies make it to the playoffs. The road for Bryce Harper and the Phillies was rocky but because of how battle-tested they are they have been a hard out so far. To cap it off he was able to have a moment of a lifetime by hitting the go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to put the Phillies ahead. Against a powerful Houston Astros team making their 3rd World Series appearance in the last 4 years, the Phillies will likely need Harper to help carry the offensive load.

Do you think Bryce Harper and the Phillies can knock of the powerful Yordan Alvarez? Or will Justin Verlander and the talented Astros’ pitchers shut out the Phillies? Let us know your World Series predictions in the comments below!

Main image credit Embed from Getty Images