Philadelphia Phillies star out-fielder Bryce Harper wiped away tears when he got the news on Thursday that he won the 2021 National League MVP Award.
His family were with him when he got the announcement at home in Las Vegas. But Harper mentioned his teammates, including hype-man Brad Miller; Phillies managing partner John Middleton, who hopped on a flight to Las Vegas a few years ago to convince him to come to Philadelphia; manager Joe Girardi and his coaches, including former hitting coach Joe Dillon; Phillies fans and the city of Philadelphia.
“I’m so grateful to know that I signed with the right place with the right people with the right organization with the right mindset. I never went to bed hungry,” Harper said on MLB Network.
Harper got 17 first-place votes and finished with 348 points in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Nationals slugger Juan Soto got six first-place votes and 274 points, and Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. got two first-place votes and 244 points to finish third.
It is Harper’s second NL MVP. He previously won in 2015 with the Nationals, which makes him the fifth player in baseball history to win MVPs with two franchises. He joins Frank Robinson (Reds, Orioles), Barry Bonds (Pirates, Giants), Alex Rodriguez (Rangers, Yankees) and Jimmie Foxx (A’s, Red Sox).
It is the Phillies’ first MVP since Jimmy Rollins in 2007 and eighth MVP in franchise history.
Numbers back Harper’s MVP case
It is easy to see why Harper won. Harper batted .309 with 42 doubles, one triple, 35 home runs, 84 RBIs, a 1.044 OPS and a 179 OPS+. He led baseball in doubles, slugging percentage (.615), OPS and OPS+. He ranked second in the NL in fWAR (6.6), on-base percentage (.429) and walks (100); third in batting average and outfield assists (10); sixth in home runs and runs (101) and ninth in bWAR (5.9). He even tied for 17th in stolen bases (13).
Harper is only the fourth outfielder in baseball history to have at least 100 runs, 100 walks, 40 doubles and 35 home runs in a season. Babe Ruth, Stan Musial and Bonds are the others.
Harper had 49 extra-base hits and 65 walks in the second half. Since the first All-Star Game in 1933, only Foxx and Bonds had as many extra-base hits and walks after the break.
Harper’s numbers could have looked even better, except he hit with runners in scoring position in only 18.5 percent of his plate appearances, which tied for the 148th lowest mark out of 4,605 players with 125 or more plate appearances since 2008. It is why Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said last month that one of his offseason priorities is finding a legitimate leadoff hitter.
