Philadelphia Phillies first base Bryce Harper. Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani may be in a race for history

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated Jun 23, 2024 3:18 PM ET

With June nearly in the rearview, the National League MVP race is beginning to heat up, with Shohei Ohtani and Bryce Harper battling it out to join an elite list.

A hop, skip and a jump away from the All-Star break, the two are among the few who've separated themselves from the field for the honor. If either Ohtani or Harper capture the award, they will etch their names into the record books as the 12th player in major league history to win MVP honors three or more times.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' designated hitter leads the NL in home runs (22), batting average (.321), slugging percentage (.625) and OPS (1.022). Ohtani is on pace to finish the year with 47 homers and 117 RBI.

He has also been red-hot lately. Entering Saturday's contest against the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani has gone 12-for-23 at the plate with three doubles, five home runs, 11 RBI and six walks over the last six games.

Meanwhile, he took his former team deep for a second straight night.

Sho and tell:

Here we have yet another Shohei Ohtani home run pic.twitter.com/P4sXjYBQwx
— MLB (@MLB) June 23, 2024

Conversely, Harper has been just as blistering as of late. While playing a solid first base, he's on pace to finish the year with 38 home runs, 108 RBI and 103 walks.

In June, Harper is batting .362 and slugging a remarkable .652 over 69 plate appearances. During that stretch, he's recorded five extra-base hits and five long balls, including a titanic second-deck shot in the Philadelphia Phillies 12-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.

The long ball was his 18th of the season, a number he didn't reach until Aug. 5 last season.

Bryce to the MOON #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/60ujGGxoom
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 22, 2024

Of course, it's still early, and plenty can happen between now and the end of the season. Likewise, there are other worthy contenders, such as Marcel Ozuna, who's slashing .312/.389/.598 with 21 homers and 64 RBI for the Atlanta Braves (42-32).

While Ozuna and the Braves sit atop the wildcard race at 42-32, Ohtani and Harper's squads are at the tippy top of the NL standings.

Following Saturday's action, the Dodgers led the NL West (47-31), 7.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres (41-40). Though, with the loss of Mookie Betts, things might get challenging down the stretch in L.A.

Harper and the Phillies are up seven games over the Braves for the NL East lead and sit atop the NL at 50-26. Meanwhile, there's only a half-game difference between them and the New York Yankees (52-27) for the best record in baseball.

Mike Santa Barbara

Mike Santa Barbara is a Wilmington, Delaware native (Yes, it's a real place) with over a decade of sports writing experience. A diehard Philadelphia sports fan, he has two dogs named after Flyers and cried real tears when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII. You can follow him on Twitter at @mike__sb

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