Harper Having Power Outage in 2023

     I have been tracking the home runs and power production of Bryce Harper since his inception as a wunderkind in the early years of the twenty-teens. He was the number one draft pick over ten years ago, 2011, and made the difference for the Nationals and eventually the Philadelphia Phillies as serious contenders in their divisions and the overall league. Despite losing Bryce in 2019, the Nats performed excellently and won the World Series, the path or destination that elite players Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper had made the Nationals a serious club to reckon with. Until the World Serious triumph in 2019 where the fire sale of the best players decimated the club in the years since. 

    The Phillies have done well with Harper and other talent that they have acquired since, like Realmuto, Trea Turner, and others. No World Series yet, and this year they are struggling to stay in contention. We will see entering into the "dog days" of August. Some teams are doing really well, like the Atlanta Braves, and the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks.

    Harper is hitting well, percentage-wise, but he has only hit 5 home runs so far in 2023, which is quite a small amount for him. He is currently sitting 290 career home runs (172 all-time), while the amazing but lately oft injured Mike Trout has a whopping 368 career homers (84th all-time). Trout had a small home run year as recently as 2021, with 8, but he only played 36 games, again because of his recent health problems. He is out now again with injury, at the still relatively young age of 31. Bryce has not caught up much in the home run department, but now has achieved 6221 plate appearances to Trout's 6517. While Mike has 300 more plate appearances than Bryce for now, Harper has a ways to get to the ranks of the South New Jersey Mauler, my new nickname for this long-time loser with the Angels. Complete winner on a career losing team, granted.

    Again, the Phils are in contention now, as are the Angels, who are trying to use the amazing Shohei Ohtani to be competitive in the American League; Harper is trying not to bottom out with his fewest home runs since the pandemic-shortened 2020 or the injury-curtailed 2014, when he played 100 games, and the former with only 58 (out of 60 total compensatory with the world-wide virus sweeping the populations).

    Bryce has played a total of 72 games played so far this year; with another 60 or so needs to hit 10 plus long balls to be above his season lows. His batting average is good, better than normal, at .291, as opposed to his career average of .280. He is contributing and making his team competitive, winning, but these last two months should prove whether he and the Phils will live up to their billings. Some call it potential. Bryce has all of it, as always.

    We shall see. Soto and Machado in San Diego are battling to be in the same place. For the season, and in their respective great careers.