Why Bryce Harper Is Every MLB Pitcher’s Worst Nightmare
There’s no one else in the Nationals’ lineup who inspires anything close to the kind of fear Harper does.
A counterpoint to astute Cubs manager Joe Maddon’s stance on Bryce Harper: Harper is already the closest thing MLB has to Barry Bonds since, well, Barry Bonds.
I paid $70 to watch Harper take numerous walks in Chicago on Sunday — six of them, actually: three intentional and three unintentional — tying a Major League record. And I was happy for the opportunity. Bryce Harper has officially reached Bondsian status in the way opposing teams — even the first-place Cubs, with reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta on the mound at the Friendly Confines — will go out of their way to avoid pitching to him.
After the game, Nationals starting pitcher Tanner Roark called it “scared baseball.” Roark’s wrong. It’s not “scared” baseball; it’s smart baseball — and it worked.
In four games against the Cubs, Harper came to the plate a grand total of 19 times, walking 13 times and getting hit by a pitch once. In 11 plate appearances over the weekend, he didn’t record a single at-bat (nine walks, one hit-by-pitch, one sacrifice fly), something that is downright unheard of.
Oh, and the most important stat — the Cubs swept the Nationals. They dared the rest of Washington’s lineup to beat them, and they couldn’t.
Bryce Harper is the most terrifying player in the game right now. Aside from the white-hot Daniel Murphy — who, for some reason, Dusty Baker won’t bat behind Harper to give him protection — there’s no one else in the Nationals’ lineup who inspires anything close to the kind of fear Harper does in the hearts of opposing fans or managers.
Sitting in the stands for Sunday’s game brought back memories of watching Bonds at his apex from 1996 through 2004 with the Giants — a nine-year stretch during which he hit at least 40 home runs in seven seasons. During that span, there was a game in 1998 when the Giants were down two to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the bases loaded. Bonds came to the plate and … the Diamondbacks intentionally walked him.
Really.
The strategy paid off. The very next batter, Brent Mayne, flew out to right field to end the game.
No manager has done that to Harper just yet, but it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility. Who would you rather your team face in that situation: Harper with a two-run lead, or someone like Ryan Zimmerman with only a one-run lead?
Through his first 32 games, Harper already has nine intentional walks — 60% of his total from last year and one more than he had in his first three seasons combined. That puts him on pace for roughly 46 intentional walks this year, which would be the highest non-Bonds single-season total of all time, according to Baseball Reference, surpassing Willie McCovey’s 45 in 1969. With 32 intentional walks in his career entering this season, he still has a long way to go before approaching Bonds’ all-time record of 688 — or even second-place Albert Pujols’ 297.
If the strategy continues to work, you’ll see managers utilize it at an even greater rate.
Taking the bat out of the hands of one of the most exciting players in the game isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing decision. If your favorite team isn’t playing against him, who wouldn’t want to watch Harper spray the ball all over the field — and into the seats?
But from a competitive standpoint, it absolutely makes sense.
Why would a manager ask his pitcher to challenge a player who hit more than 100 home runs before his 24th birthday and posted a .649 slugging percentage en route to an NL MVP award last year? Why not take your chances with the likes of Ryan Zimmerman, Wilson Ramos, or Jayson Werth — none of whom are likely to beat you without Harper’s help? The Nationals, as a team, are hitting an anemic .239 — a mark that would have placed them last in the league last year.
Harper is getting the Bonds treatment, and he has more than earned it. Given the success the Cubs enjoyed with their ugly yet effective strategy, look for more teams to replicate it moving forward.
