With a much quieter offseason preceding his second season in Philadelphia, there was a thought that Bryce Harper could compete for the National League MVP Award and help the Phillies return to the postseason for the first time since 2011.
Neither happened.
In his age-27 season, Harper opened the campaign on a torrid pace. Following a 13-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 18, Harper’s slash line stood at a staggering .367/.486/.700 with a 1.186 OPS.
Even over the course of a 60-game stretch, Harper was never going to be able to maintain that type of production.