Of those seasons, 66% of them come from Ruth, Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, Bonds, Albert Pujols, and Hank Greenberg. 330), at least 40 HR (Harper hit 42), had an OPS of at least 1.100 (Harper had 1.109), scored at least 110 runs (118), while driving in at least 95 RBI (99). If we look at the raw numbers, there are only 42 seasons in which a player hit at least. Of those 43, 74% of them (including the top 22) were put up by a player named Ruth, Williams, Bonds, Hornsby, Mantle, Cobb, or Gehrig. In the modern era, there have been 43 seasons total in which a player produced a wRC+ of 195 or higher. is particularly useful because it accounts for all at-bat results, weighs them based on their correlation with runs scored, and then adjusts it for the offensive production of the league – a 150 means a player was 50% more productive than the league average, regardless of whether it was the dead ball era or the PED era. 100 is average and each point above or below is a percentage better or worse than the average player. When conducting a historical comparison, wRC+ Weighted Runs Created Plus: A comprehensive measure of offensive production relative to the league. The question being asked about this season should not be whether Bryce Harper was the most valuable player in the National League this year, it should be “Just how impressive was this season really?” Short answer: Extremely. As Craig Edwards at FanGraphs noted, finishing over 200 would have put him in exceedingly elite company, but his mark of 197 still puts him in rather rarefied air. Harper spent most of the season with a wRC+ Weighted Runs Created Plus: A comprehensive measure of offensive production relative to the league. 461 was 34 points ahead of the next closest player in either league. 590) and his wOBA Weighted On Base Percentage: A comprehensive measure of offensive production, measuring all at bat outcomes and placed on a scale roughly equal to “normal” on base percentage.320 is average. The next highest slugging in either league was 59 points behind Harper (Mike Trout at. That was good for the 2nd highest average in the NL (3rd in MLB), 5th in the NL in RBI, and 1st in the NL in every other category. They have the ability to stretch those into triples, which we've seen from both players already this season.īut as they both continue to add bulk to their frames, Trout's speed will remain, while Harper's will begin to fade.Bryce Harper seems a lock for the NL MVP (despite any “his team didn’t even make the playoffs” dissenters) and amidst the flaming wreckage of the Nationals’ season, it’s easy to overlook just how amazing his year was (and why suggesting his team’s failures should detract from his award vote is just crazy).įor the 2015 season, Bryce Harper hit 42 home runs, scored 118 runs, and drove in 99 more, all while slashing. Those balls-shots hit to the outfield gaps-give both players a leg up (no pun intended) on the competition. Stolen bases aren't the only way we can see how Trout's speed makes him the better player: Trout has superior range in the outfield, as he can get to balls Harper (or most players) only watch fall in for base hits, or worse, watch it roll to the wall. Harper, on the other hand, is fourth on the Nationals with four steals in seven attempts. While he trails the Cleveland Indians' Jason Kipnis for the AL lead (Kipnis has 17), keep in mind that Kipnis has played in 20 more games than Trout has. Trout has elite speed-evidenced by his 16 stolen bases in 19 attempts. This isn't to say that Bryce Harper is slow, but compared to Mike Trout, most people would be considered slow. So the edge in attitude goes to Trout, who as I said, we've never heard or seen act as anything but respectful towards anyone associated with the game. But we've never seen anything even close to this from Mike Trout, who is only a year older than Harper.īut there's always the chance that Harper could have a momentary lapse of sanity and show up an opposing pitcher in the show, and he's likely to receive far more than some choice words from the mound if that happens against the wrong guy. To his credit, Harper seems to have matured. Now yes, this incident was grossly overblown-Harper was a teenager who got caught up in the moment-but that doesn't change the fact that it happened. As he gets to home plate, the slugger looks at Neal and blows him a kiss. Neal, who took offense to Harper's admiration of his home run, is yelling at Harper from the mound. Last year, while playing for the Nationals' Single-A affiliate, the Hagerstown Suns, Harper went deep off of Zachary Neal, a pitcher for the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins.Īs you can see in the video, Harper admires his blast for a few seconds, then begins to trot around the bases.
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