Harper's All-Star expectations reached despite injury

PHILADELPHIA -- Think back to February 2019, when the Phillies signed Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract.

Phillies fans went crazy.

One of baseball’s superstars chose them.

The Phillies sold about 100,000 tickets in the hours immediately following the news about Harper’s deal, which is believed to be the franchise’s single-day ticket record. They sold another 80,000 tickets the next day. It was a massive amount because Harper was a massive star. Surprisingly, an executive at the time expressed his surprise that Harper sold that many tickets, jerseys and T-shirts in the days immediately following his arrival. Phillies managing partner John Middleton knew Phillies fans would respond, though. It was why he hopped on a plane to Las Vegas to convince Harper to come to Philadelphia.

• MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard: Tuesday on FOX

Harper learned on July 8 that baseball fans voted him as the National League’s All-Star starter at designated hitter, making him the first Phillies’ player to be elected as a starter since Chase Utley in 2014. But he cannot play because he broke his left thumb in San Diego on June 25. Harper, who had surgery June 29, said he plans to play again this season. In fact, he guaranteed it, which is one reason why he will not attend the festivities this week in Los Angeles, leaving Kyle Schwarber as the Phillies’ lone representative for Tuesday’s game at Dodger Stadium.

Harper said he plans to spend the week focusing on “working out, getting back and enjoying the down time with my family.”

“It is an incredible honor to be voted in by the fans, especially for my first one as a Phillie,” Harper texted recently. “I’m really upset I won’t be able to wear Phillies pinstripes in L.A. because of what happened, but I look forward to doing it again here soon in the future. I love this organization and fan base and wish I could do it for them.”

Surprisingly, this was Harper’s first All-Star appearance with the Phillies. He started slowly in his debut season in Philadelphia in 2019 before catching fire in the second half. There was no All-Star Game in 2020 because of the pandemic. Harper did not make the 2021 team, even as a reserve, but he later won the NL Most Valuable Player Award.

Harper has been unavailable for an interview since the Phillies’ last homestand, so this seemed to be a good opportunity to look at everything he has accomplished in his first four seasons with the Phillies. A strong argument can be made that he has been an absolute bargain.

He has slashed .287/.400/.563 with 98 home runs, 279 RBIs and a 155 OPS+ from 2019-22. He slashed .279/.388/.512 with 184 homers, 521 RBIs and a 139 OPS+ in seven seasons with the Nationals from 2012-18.

Since 2019, Harper ranks 22nd out of 150 qualified batters (minimum 1,250 plate appearances) in batting average. He is fourth in on-base percentage, behind Juan Soto (.432), Mike Trout (.415) and Freddie Freeman (.401). He is third in slugging percentage, behind Trout (.623) and Yordan Alvarez (.595). He is fourth in OPS, behind Trout (1.038), Soto (.979) and Alvarez (.974). He is fourth in OPS+ behind Trout (178), Soto (164) and Alvarez (161).

Harper was having one of the best seasons of his career before the broken thumb, even while playing since mid-April with a torn UCL in his right arm. He batted .318 with 15 home runs, 48 RBIs and a .985 OPS. At the time, he ranked fifth in the NL in batting average, sixth in on-base percentage (.385) and second in slugging percentage (.599).

The Phillies desperately need Harper back in the second half. He offered no timetable, but any time in August would be a godsend.

“I don’t want to hope or think about anything,” Harper said. “I just want to go day by day and be back when I can, whenever I feel healthy, whenever that is, to help this team win. If we’re in it, if we’re out of it, I’m going to come back and play no matter what, just so I know that I can go out there and play the game. I don’t want that to be my last day playing this year. No matter what the outcome, I’m going to come back and I’ll be playing so I can assure myself I can go out there and play the game at a high level that I want to.”

What a fun story it would be if he returned and played at an even higher level, leading the Phillies to the postseason for the first time in 11 years.