Phillies' Bryce Harper backs up his reputation for being clutch
On Tuesday night, with the Philadelphia Phillies trailing the Miami Marlins, 1-0, in the top of the ninth inning, Bryce Harper came to bat with the tying run at first base. As one might expect, he did Harper things.
Nick Castellanos then brought Harper home on a two-run home run, and the Phillies came away with a thrilling 3-1 victory.
When the Phillies signed Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract in 2019, these scenarios were exactly what they had in mind. They knew that Harper had a penchant for delivering in the clutch. Not only is he a generational talent, he seemingly defies the laws of baseball averages when pressed into such situations.
If a team is trailing in the ninth inning and its best hitter comes to the plate, fans have about a 20-30% confidence level that he'll deliver a hit. That's just the way baseball is. Even the greatest hitters reach base less than half the time. With Harper, the confidence level among Phillies fans rises to 40-50%.
Consider this: According to Stathead from Baseball Reference, since he joined the Phillies in 2019, Harper has had 88 plate appearances in the eighth inning or later with at least one runner on base and the Phillies either tied or trailing by three runs or less. In those plate appearances, Harper's on-base percentage is a staggering .455 with 25 RBI. By comparison, here are the stat lines under these circumstances for some of the greatest hitters in Phillies history:
Chase Utley: 323 plate appearances, .417 OBP, 58 RBI
Ryan Howard: 323 plate appearances, .412 OBP, 87 RBI
Mike Schmidt: 500 plate appearances, .400 OBP, 117 RBI
Dick Allen: 218 plate appearances, .392 OBP, 56 RBI
Richie Ashburn: 312 plate appearances, .385 OBP, 48 RBI
While Harper does not yet have the same number of appearances in such situations as those five, he has already proven that he can deliver in the clutch. You need a double to tie the game in the ninth inning? He can do it. You need a home run in the bottom of the eighth to win the National League pennant? Easy.
Harper has already delivered plenty of clutch hitting for the Phillies, and they'll hope he can continue to do so over the remaining years of his deal. If so, he'll be worth every penny.
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