Bryce Harper hears boos as rough first month with Phillies comes to an end
If first impressions are everything, Bryce Harper is already finished in Philadelphia. Harper’s first month with the Phillies hasn’t gone well. The 26-year-old Harper is hitting .240/.388/.490, with six home runs in his first 129 plate appearances with the club.
While Harper’s slugging and on-base numbers are more than acceptable for most players, it’s not what Phillies fans expected when Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million deal in the offseason. They wanted the MVP version of Harper, or at least the 2017 model.
Phillies fans haven’t gotten that yet, which might explain why they showered Harper with boos following yet another rough game from the slugger. Harper went 0-for-4, with two strikeouts, during Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
Following a strikeout in the eighth inning, Harper was booed as he walked back to the dugout, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Harper was just fine with that.
"I'd do the same thing," he said. "It's not fun to lose, not fun to watch when you're playing that way. (I was) 0 for 4 with two punchies. I'm probably thinking the same thing walking back to the dugout."
Thankfully for Harper, baseball is less about first impressions and more about what have you done for me lately. Given that Harper is just a few weeks into a 13-year deal, he has plenty of time to turn things around.
It could even happen before the All-Star break. While Harper has shown some troubling signs during his first month in Philadelphia — a low 64.3 percent contact rate and a rising strikeout rate — he’s still doing plenty to suggest a bounce back is possible.
When Harper has made contact this season, it’s been loud. His barrel rate is even higher than it was in 2015. That probably explains why he’s also posting one of his highest hard-hit rates ever. He’s made hard contact 46.9 percent of the time in 2019, according to Baseball Savant. That’s his highest hard-contact rate since he won the MVP award in 2015.
If Harper can make better contact — his career contact rate is 74.8 percent — he should see his average climb. Considering both Harper’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage — both of which are already fine — should rise along with his average, that will be more than enough to get Phillies fans back on track.
Things may not have gone well for Harper in month No. 1, but he has 155 more to show fans the Phillies made the right choice.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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