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Bryce Harper Blasts Home Run to Move Up Philadelphia Phillies' All-Time Leaderboards

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper crushed his 30th home run of the season against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, reaching the mark for the third time since he joined the club.
Sam Connon|
Sep 24, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) watches after hitting a home run against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning at Citizens Bank Park.
Sep 24, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) watches after hitting a home run against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

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Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies already had the NL East crown in their back pocket entering Tuesday, so their 10-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs didn't sting all too much.

On the individual level, though, Bryce Harper made sure he got the most out of the contest.

Harper put the Phillies on top early, blasting a 407-foot home run to straightaway center. It marked Harper's 30th home run of the season, making this the first time he has reached the milestone since 2021.

As noted by TSN's StatsCentre, Harper became the ninth player in Phillies franchise history to record at least three 30-home runs seasons with the club. He is the second player to do so this year, following in the footsteps of Kyle Schwarber.

Mike Schmidt owns the franchise record with 13 seasons of 30-plus homers, followed by Ryan Howard with six. Chuck Klein and Pat Burrell posted four apiece, while Dick Allen, Greg Luzinski and Chase Utley as had three as well.

Harper is in his sixth season with the Phillies, and surely many fans expected him to blast 30 home runs every year after he signed a $330 million contract. The COVID-19 pandemic shortened the 2020 campaign, though, and Harper was plagued by injuries in both 2022 and 2023.

If it weren't for those interruptions, maybe Harper would be right up there alongside Howard in second place on the list. Regardless, he has plenty of time left to move up the leaderboards, considering he is under contract for another seven seasons.

Harper is set to turn 32 years old this October.

Including his time with the Washington Nationals, Harper has cleared the 30-home run mark five times. His 336 career home runs rank seventh among active players, while his 50.9 WAR ranks 10th among active position players.

Harper and the Phillies will close out their series with the Cubs at 6:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, looking to make up the 0.5-game deficit that separates them from the Los Angeles Dodgers and the top seed in the NL playoff picture.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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