That's what the Phillies made on February 28, when they inked Bryce Harper to an historic 13-year, $330 million contract. Phillies fans everywhere spent the winter clamoring for GM Matt Klentak to make a deal for either Harper or Manny Machado. It almost made unbearable the listening to of sports talk radio - everyday callers, hosts, and hot takes notwithstanding, naturally.
The signing of Harper offered hope.
Just two weeks prior, Klentak himself admitted the Phightin's had already enjoyed an "objectively great offseason." Let's see:
- Ever-underperforming Carlos Santana and eh prospect J.P. Crawford netted the good guys Jean Segura, Professional Hitter;
- The unexpected 3-year, $45 million deal for former-MVP Andrew McCutchen gave the Phillies a solid defensive outfielder and a legitimate lead-off hitter;
- Dave Robertson and his 137 career saves would sure up the back end of the bullpen;
- In a surprise move, the Phillies dealt #1 prospect Sixto Sanchez and Jorge Alfaro for All-Star J.T. Realmuto.
Splashy moves, all. Klentak may have patted himself on the back for his wheeling/dealing, but business remained unfinished. Fans shouted, "GET ONE OF THE STUD FREE AGENTS, OR ENJOY THE HOTTEST OF SEATS."
(I highly doubt anyone, like at all, shouted that. Still...)
When news of the Harper deal broke, Philly pulsated with what might be: How many World Series are we going to win? How many home runs will Bryce belt in the Bank? How many hot dogs will Kruk eat this season? Nothing was off the table. In fact, everything was on the table. And it was EVERYTHING.
As I write this, the Bryce Harper-era Phillies have played 84 games. They sit in 2nd place in the NL East, 5.5 games behind the annoying-ass Atlanta Braves. The season doesn't end today, but if it did, the good guys would miss the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year.
Harper thus far has delivered on the hype. On a team oft-criticized for its lack of hustle, Harper himself boogies. He's shown aggression on the basepath and a willingness to make some of the more difficult plays in right field. Shit, we've seen him dive for balls on several occasions, and it's only July 1. Needless to say, he brings energy sorely needed to the club.
Only when glancing at the numbers could one begin to find fault with Bryce Harper's value to the franchise moving forward. "13 years of this shit?" WAR is 0.8. That's wins above replacement. Considering his replacement in Nick fucking Williams, an additional less-than-one overall win is underwhelming. I'm not the least bit whelmed. I'm not a big fan of WAR, mostly because it's a stat nerd's wet dream. I have little interest in stats that weren't on the back of the late-80s/early-90s Topps and Donruss.
So, yeah, his HRs are down, K's are up, he needs to hit for a better average... but there's still reason to rejoice.
Harper is on pace to drive in more runs than he has in any of his previous seven seasons. He should finish among the league leaders in doubles, eclipsing his previous high of 38 two-baggers from his MVP season of 2008. He'll flirt with 30 HRs. That's just if he keeps pace. If he catches fire, we'll likely be adding a few other stats to this list.
His line to-date from Baseball Reference:
Year
|
Age
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
PA
|
AB
|
R
|
H
|
2B
|
3B
|
HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
CS
|
BB
|
SO
|
BA
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
OPS
|
OPS+
|
TB
|
2019
|
26
|
84
|
367
|
308
|
50
|
77
|
23
|
0
|
15
|
59
|
4
|
3
|
56
|
101
|
.250
|
.368
|
.471
|
.839
|
117
|
145
|
As Drunk Phils Fans - and both as drunks and as fans - we want an immediate return on "our" investment. But Harper's is a long-term deal, no matter how insistent we may be. It's the journey, friends, and we've covered less than 4% of the trip.
Happy traveling - and tracking - you bunch o' malcontents! At least we ain't Mets fans...