Reconsidered

Despite my best efforts, I raised a smart aleck for a daughter. Whenever I’d offer, “Great minds think alike,” she’d answer with, “No, great minds think for themselves.” And yet she survived into adulthood. Now, though, a very smart parent and child find themselves in agreement over the matter of Bryce Harper. Neither of us thought Harper was worth the thirteen-year, $330 million contract the Phillies gave him back in 2019. A nice player, but not a great player, we agreed. Check that, even though Harper has never reached 100 RBIs in a season for the Phillies and has only hit .300-plus one time. What I like, and I think Clare likes, is that Harper acts like a leader; takes responsibility for failure; and treats injuries as motivation. He also hits in the postseason. So far in the playoffs, he’s hit three homers, which really isn’t that surprising, given that he has fourteen in six trips to the postseason. What is surprising is how quickly Harper has come back from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He played through a partially torn UCL in 2022 (hitting .286 with sixty-five RBIs as a DH) before undergoing surgery in late November. Guess who came back on May 2nd? Yes, Harper, first as a DH and then, in July, as the Phillies’ first baseman. To quote my daughter, “Nobody even talks about how he’s learned a whole new position.” That’s probably because people have been more focused on his hitting. We’ll just note that he hit .352 this season when putting the ball in play (and .323 for his career). Add those postseason homeruns, and you’re forced to reconsider your opinion. Hey, even great minds can get it wrong once in a while.