It was October of 2012, a decade ago, when the Cardinals knocked off the Nationals. Since then, the phenom became a phoenix and, now, a Philly. And until the Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt gets the hardware this winter, Harper is the reigning MVP in the National League.
Still, since returning from the injured list on Aug. 26, Harper has a .676 OPS and only three homers (incidentally, Goldschmidt has gone from slugging to struggling, too — he has only two homers since the same Aug. 26 date).
But there’s still some Bryce Harper somewhere in Bryce Harper.
Which leads us to the Cardinals’ test beginning Friday in the three-game series against Philadelphia.