Phillies 'Mr. October' doesn't melt in red-hot spotlight
Baseball isn't supposed to be predictable. The best hitters only reach base roughly a third of the time. The law of averages seems to limit the best of players.
Except for Bryce Harper.
The Philadelphia Phillies star turned in another classic performance Wednesday by clubbing two home runs in a 10-2 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Philadelphia needs one more win to eliminate Atlanta for the second consecutive postseason and advance to the National League Championship Series. The upstart Arizona Diamondbacks await after a stunning three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In Game 3, the Phillies tied a postseason game record by hitting six home runs, four combined by Harper and Nick Castellanos. According to Stathead from Baseball Reference, Harper and Castellanos are the fourth pair of teammates to hit two home runs apiece in a playoff game. The most famous duo to do so were baseball legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the 1932 World Series.
In 22 postseason games with the Phillies, Harper's average is .350 with nine home runs and 18 RBI. By comparison, here's how three other Phillies stars fared in the postseason:
Mike Schmidt: 36 games, .236, four HRs, 16 RBI
Chase Utley: 46 games, .262, 10 HRs, 25 RBI
Ryan Howard: 46 games, .259, eight HRs, 33 RBI
Harper has more postseason home runs for Philadelphia than Schmidt and Howard and is nearing Utley's total in roughly half the time. He needs three home runs to surpass Jayson Werth's team record of 11.
After Game 2, which ended with Harper getting thrown out on a double play after center fielder Michael Harris made an incredible catch, Arcia gave Philadelphia bulletin board material.
The comment apparently was not lost on Harper, who stared down Arcia following a Game 3 homer.
The bright lights and high stakes of the playoffs sometimes are too much even for the biggest of names. The three front-runners for National League MVP — Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. and Los Angeles' Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman — have combined for just three hits over 31 at-bats this postseason.
This is what separates Harper from the rest of the pack. Big moments and games don't overwhelm him. He lives for October.
More must-reads: