A couple of weeks ago, I read a post on X. It was about Bryce Harper's performance between the Nationals and the Phillies. That’s a very interesting post.
After reading the post, I was just thinking about something similar. Well, it’s Harper’s 8th season with the Phillies. Before joining the Phillies, he spent 7 seasons with the Nationals. He’s an MVP award winner. However, how about comparing his performance between his time with the Nationals and his first 7 seasons with the Phillies?
To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the great Fangraphs website.
So, looking at Harper’s time with the Nationals, he played 927 games in 7 seasons. He collected 922 hits, smashed 184 home runs and had 521 RBI. Meanwhile, he had 75 steals. Harper slashed .279/.388/.512. His OPS was .900 as a National.
In March 2019, Harper and the Phillies agreed to a long-term deal. From 2019 to 2025, he played 858 games for the Nationals. Well, we have to remember that the 2020 season was a shortened one. In his first 7 seasons with the Phillies, Harper had 879 hits and crushed 179 home runs. Additionally, he collected 530 RBI and had 77 steals. Harper slashed .281/.386/.526 from 2019 to 2025 and his OPS was over .900.
When we look at these 14 seasons, it’s clear that Harper is a dangerous hitter in the majors and he’s quite consistent. From 2019 to 2025, he didn’t play as many games as he did from 2012 to 2018. Nonetheless, he did collect more RBI and stole more bases. There were little differences in batting average and on-base percentage. Furthermore, his OPS was over .900.
Finally, let’s look at Harper’s performance in the postseason. When Harper played for the Nationals, the team clinched a spot in the postseason 4 times. In those 4 postseasons, Harper played 19 games, hitting .211/.315/.487 with 5 home runs and 10 RBI. After joining the Phillies, Harper has played 38 games in the playoffs. And he did hit well in those 38 games, slashing .311/.431/.659 with 12 home runs and 24 RBI. Harper’s OPS is over 1.000 as a Phillie.
As such, when we look at Harper’s time with the Nationals and his first 7 seasons with the Phillies, during the regular season, he’s that great player. He did hit well and he got on base. Moreover, he can run. Nevertheless, a key difference is that Harper has played well in the postseason in the Phillies uniform. Looking at his stats in the playoffs, Harper’s OPS was over .800 in the Nationals uniform. That looked good. Nevertheless, as a Phillies, Harper has an OPS over 1.000 in the playoffs, that’s quite unbelievable. Perhaps, Harper now knows how to play well in the postseason and knows what could contribute more. The Phillies secured 4 consecutive postseason appearances from 2022 to 2025. If the Phillies do it again this year, it will be quite interesting to see whether Harper will hit well in the playoffs.
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