Ever since he was 16 years old, Bryce Harper has lived in baseball’s brightest spotlight. On the biggest stage of his career to date, Harper delivered his signature moment in Game 5 of the NLCS on Sunday.
The two-time MVP hammered a go-ahead, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Phillies ahead of the Padres and into the World Series for the franchise’s first National League pennant since 2009—the same year that Harper graced the cover of Sports Illustrated for the first time.
From his debut in SI to his first-ever World Series, Harper has long assumed a starring role in baseball’s never-ending saga. Here’s a look at Harper over the years, through the eyes (and words) of SI‘s Tom Verducci and other top writers.
Baseball’s LeBron (June 2009)
Like LeBron James before him, Harper was anointed as his sport’s “chosen one” while he was still in high school. Though still in pursuit of his first title, he, like James, has somehow lived up to that enormous billing. Verducci follows Harper at his Las Vegas origin, complete with Paul Bunyan-esque tales of 570-foot home runs and comparisons to Alexander the Great.
Here He Comes (August 2011)
Almost immediately, Harper assumed a sort of villainous role among baseball neutrals. He was young, brash and talented, traits that made him basically arsenic for the sport’s purists. As the baseball world awaited his big-league arrival, Verducci tracked Harper’s progress in the minors, complete with references to Nick Jonas and the Soviet Union.
Washington’s Monument (February 2013)
Fast-forward nearly four years since his SI debut, and Harper had gone from seemingly limitless potential to a true-blue phenom. He made his big-league debut, first All-Star team and won the NL’s Rookie of the Year award all at 19, helping lead the Nationals to their first postseason appearance since the franchise relocated from Montreal. Many felt certain Harper was destined for greatness, but few could likely have foreseen him becoming this good this quickly.
The Man They Love to Hate (March 2015)
MLB stardom only added fuel to the fire that was Harper’s perceived dislikable persona. Relative to expectations, the two seasons that followed his Rookie of the Year campaign were disappointments, with injuries causing Harper to miss 106 games from 2013 to ’14. But those who rooted for Harper to fail were in store for a long summer.
Season for the Ages (October 2015)
It took Harper less than two years from getting drafted to reach the majors. It took him four more to become a modern-day Ted Williams. Harper won his first MVP award for his 2015 season at age 22, becoming the youngest to ever win the award by unanimous vote. To date, his 42 home runs and 1.109 OPS from that year stand as career highs.
Philly Special Bryce Harper (April 2019)
After seven productive yet titleless seasons in Washington, Harper sat on the open market unsigned for four months. Finally, he reached an agreement with the Phillies on a then-record 13-year, $330 million contract, altering the trajectory of the franchise. Harper’s intro to the City of Brotherly Love got off to an awkward start—he infamously misspoke during his introductory press conference, saying he wanted to bring a title to “Washington”—but has nonetheless been a successful marriage between a player many love to hate and a city that embraces bold personalities and, above all, winning players.
Bryce Harper Doesn’t Want Your Praise. But He Needs Your Doubt (September 2021)
Baseball, like life, often comes full circle. Massive hype preceded Harper’s arrival to the big leagues, creating a situation where it was virtually impossible to reach the expectations others established for him. That caused many to slap the “overrated” label on Harper by the time he began what would become his second MVP season in 2021. By then, the former teenage phenom had somehow become underrated.
This story was published on Saturday evening, and while the premise now seems prophetic, the headline was true even before Harper’s Game 5 heroics. From overhyped to underrated, there’s no denying that Harper has blossomed into one of his generation’s greatest players at his career midpoint. All of which set the stage for the most impactful at-bat of his life.
