Phillies Slugger Nearing Career Home Run Milestone

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper is quickly closing in on a career home run milestone as he continues his amazing recovery from Tommy John surgery.

Against the San Francisco Giants, Harper hit his 11th home run of the season in the first inning, a two-run shot that gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead at the time.

It also happened to be the 296th home run of Harper’s career, putting him in line to reach 300 career home runs soon.

quickly approaching 300 #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/xlKc5STGZM
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 22, 2023

In hitting Tuesday’s home run, he broke a tie for No. 163 on the all-time list. Once Harper reaches 300, he’ll be among the Top 160 home run hitters in history. In fact, a former Phillies slugger, Chuck Klein is the only player with exactly 300 home runs. He was nicknamed the ‘Hoosier Hammer’ and he’s in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Harper already has a resume that is putting him on a path toward Cooperstown. The two-time National League MVP was also the league’s Rookie of the Year when he broke in the league in 2012. He’s also earned seven All-Star Game berths, two Silver Slugger awards and been named a National League Championship Series MVP.

Assuming Harper stays healthy, the 30-year-old could move up the all-time list quickly. By moving from 300 to 400 home runs, Harper would move into the Top 60 on the list. Moving up to 500 home runs puts him among the Top 30 sluggers of all time.

After Tuesday’s game, Harper was batting .297 and he’s hit five of those home runs in August.

Harper has had quite the season for the Phillies and it doesn’t have much to do with what he’s done on the field. After he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in May of 2022 he was the designated hitter for the rest of the season, helping the Phillies reach the World Series.

After surgery in late November, he made the fastest recovery from Tommy John surgery by a position player, moving back into the DH role and then into to the field as a first baseman after the All-Star break.

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