Phillies

Pump the (Bryce) Brakes

Liam Mahoney   |  

Jul 10, 2025

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Time to relax about Bryce Harper. He is 32. He is not 40. He has been banged up this season.

He is not washed and a different hitter because his start to the year didn’t go how you wanted it to.

This is not basketball, where a player needs to “average” 25 points a game and put on a show every single night. He is still arguably the most valuable player in that lineup. 

Yes, I know he hasn’t performed up to his standard. I know at times he has looked a little off, but the rhetoric around Harper has gone too far. He has devoted himself to this city. We all know about his no-trade clause.

Now, because he’s had an ok first half of a season, we are going to turn on him?  

He’s not going to be a superstar every single night. And although he does need to raise his level of play, we have all seen how quickly Bryce can get hot and stay hot. And when he is hot, the Phillies’ offense operates at a completely different level. And perhaps we got a taste of a hot streak to come? Bryce posted his first ever four extra base hit game, with a homer and three doubles.

Oh yeah, the Phillies scored 13 runs too. A perfect example of Harper’s impact and what he still does.

But if you really think he is on the decline, why not take a look at his numbers in first halves with the Phillies?

2019

2020 (Limited Games)

2021 (MVP Season)

2022

2023 

2024

2025

Is He Really Having a Bad Season?

Once you see all of his numbers in perspective, you can tell Bryce is actually not having a bad season. The number that sticks out the most is his batting average; this would be the only area where I need Bryce to step it up. His lowest BA for the first half of a season with the Phillies was .253 during his first year. The .259 this season is not good. But if you follow the trend, Bryce’s average will increase during the second half of the season. It has increased in the second half of the season every year with the Phillies unless he was hitting over .300.  

We could analyze each statistic, but even looking at RBI, which feels like they are down, it really isn’t. In his 2021 MVP season, he only had 34 RBIs at the All-Star break. Yup, less than he has now.

Side note: The second half of that 2021 season from Harper was absolutely insane. 

There are a handful of athletes we shouldn’t have to worry about performing in this city. Bryce Harper is at the top of the list. The feeling from fans is that he hasn’t been the same player, but this simply isn’t true.

I am predicting a massive second half of the season from Harper. If his play in San Francisco is any indication, he should carry a hot (and hopefully healthy) bat into the second half of the season.

But please stop with the “Harper is washed” nonsense.

He is our two-time MVP winner, and we need to be there with him every step of the way.

PHOTO: David Frerker/Imagn Images

Categorized:Phillies