Philadelphia Phillies Slugger Bryce Harper Joins Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth in Playoff History
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper has spent the past few years tormenting the Atlanta Braves to a historic degree.
Harper went 6-for-13 with three home runs, five RBI and five walks in the NLDS against the Braves this week, which the Phillies won in four games. The two-time MVP made a show out of his dominant performance as well, debuting viral pregame outfits and starting beef with Atlanta shortstop Orlando Arcia midway through the series.
Adding in his four games versus the Braves in last year's NLDS, Harper now has a 1.675 OPS against Atlanta in the postseason. According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, that is the third-highest OPS by a player versus a single opponent in postseason history, minimum 25 plate appearances.
The only players above Harper are Barry Bonds against the Anaheim Angels and Babe Ruth against the St. Louis Cardinals.
In eight playoff games and 36 plate appearances versus the Braves, Harper has six singles, three doubles, five home runs, 10 RBI, six walks, six strikeouts, a sacrifice hit and a stolen base. For context, that production would put Harper on pace for 284 hits, 101 home runs, 203 RBI and 648 total bases over a 162-game season.
Meanwhile, Harper has more regular season home runs against Atlanta than he does versus any other team with 44.
Harper's best playoff series have come against the Braves, but his overall postseason numbers are some of the best around as well. Harper's 1.017 OPS in the playoffs is the ninth-highest in MLB history, minimum 100 plate appearances, and his .633 slugging percentage ranks sixth.
After going 0-4 in playoff series with the Washington Nationals from 2012 to 2018, Harper is now 5-1 with the Phillies.
Harper will get a chance to improve that mark and return to a second-straight World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. Game 1 is scheduled to start at 8:07 p.m. ET on Monday.
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