Philadelphia Phillies Superstar Would Enter Rarified Air With 2025 MVP Award

Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper was one of the most highly regarded prospects in baseball history when he was selected No. 1 overall in the 2010 MLB draft.

Before his first big league swing, greatness was the expectation for Harper.

Ken Griffey Jr. might be the only baseball prospect in history that could rival the star slugger in terms of notoriety and potential.

Harper has delivered on his lofty projections throughout his 13-year professional career. He broke into The Show back in 2012 at just 19 years old. He played with the Washington Nationals through the 2018 season, before signing with the Phillies.

Harper will turn 33 in October, putting together a career that is on the path towards Cooperstown.

Entering 2025, he has 336 home runs with a career .911 OPS, slashing .281/.389/.522. He has a career bWAR of 51.1, positioning him to surpass many current Hall of Famers before he hangs up his cleats.

He has not yet won a World Series, but he has claimed two National League MVPs, one with the Nationals in 2015 and his second with Philadelphia in 2021.

Barry Bonds is the career leader in MVPs with seven, which includes a stretch with the San Francisco Giants where he won four straight. From 2001 through 2004, Bonds' four MVPs are more than any other player has won in their entire career.

There are 11 hitters tied for second in career MVPs with three a piece, including Philadelphia legend
Mike Schmidt (1980, '81, '86).

Four New York Yankees have reached this mark, starting with homegrown icons Joe DiMaggio (1939, '41, '47), Yogi Berra (1951, '54, '55) and Mickey Mantle (1956, '57, '62). Alex Rodriguez (2003, '05, '07) is the fourth to wear a Yankee uniform, joining Bonds as the only players to reach this pinnacle who are not in the Hall of Fame.

Their association with performance enhancing drugs are why both players have not been enshrined in Cooperstown, despite their historic production.

Albert Pujols (2005, '08, '09) is not eligible for the Hall of Fame until 2028, but he is a near certainty to get in. Fellow St. Louis Cardinals great, Stan Musial (1943, '46, '48), and Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella (1951, '53, '55) made this list generations ago.

Jimmie Fox (1932, '33, '38) was the first in history to win three MVP awards.

Los Angeles Angels living legend Mike Trout (2014, '16, '19), along with his former teammate and current Dodger, Shohei Ohtani (2021, '23, '24) are the only active players with three MVPs.

Ohtani is Harper's biggest obstacle to joining this club, as no one outside of Babe Ruth is comparable to Ohtani when he's pitching.

Ohtani is three years younger than Harper, which means the Dodgers unicorn will either need to decline or miss time to open the NL MVP door to anyone else.

Even if that happens, Harper hasn't put together a truly elite season since his 9.7 bWAR campaign that took home the 2015 NL MVP.

He's had a lot of very good campaigns since, including his 5.9 bWAR figure that secured the 2021 NL MVP, but that kind of number won't be enough to surpass peak Ohtani.

If Ohtani blocks Harper from becoming the 13th player in league history to win three MVPs, he's still an iconic player who has built a Hall of Fame resume.

If he keeps up his current pace over the next handful of seasons, it's going to be nearly impossible for voters to keep Harper out of Cooperstown.

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