Skip to main content

Today marks the end of the 2021 regular season. It also marks the end of Bryce Harper's National League Most Valuable Player campaign. For many MVP voters it is a pre-requisite that the team the MVP awardee is chosen from has to make the postseason. 

There are instances when that doesn't occur and the winner comes from a club that missed the postseason. It happened in 2006 for Ryan Howard when he was with the Philadelphia Phillies. 

It should happen in 2021 for Harper as well.

There are only a few players that could truly compete with Harper for the award. San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr, Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto are the only others in the conversation. Both in any given year could have won the award for their performance this season. However, Harper has just been too good.

Additionally, both Tatis Jr. and Soto also hail from clubs who missed the postseason. In fact, they missed it by a much larger margin than the Phillies did.  

Harper carried this Philadelphia team on his back this season and was one of just a few bright spots on the roster. He had a historic second-half and one of the best offensive seasons any Phillie has ever had. 

His slash line of .308/.427/.612 is prodigious. Nearly all 35 of his homeruns were majestic. But, it's his attitude and desire to win that are most the impressive. He is th leader and lifeblood of the Phillies, even when the going got tough.

It was his individual performances that gave the Phillies a chance to make the postseason even as recently as the penultimate series of the season against the Atlanta Braves. Yes, he all but disappeared for said series, but he can't do it all. And yet, he almost did.

The MVP award takes into account the actions of the player on the field. But Harper's influence off the field was just as crucial to any success the Phillies experienced in 2021. 

Despite missing the postseason, Harper should earn the NL MVP honors. It shouldn't even be a matter of debate.


Make sure to follow Inside the Phillies on Facebook and Twitter!