[ad_1]
Bryce Harper’s triumphant return to the Philadelphia Phillies following Tommy John surgery didn’t exactly go to plan. He was fine when he first came back, but he started a slump that rivaled the worst of his career. He hasn’t left the yard for some time.
The prolific slugger and two-time NL MVP has yet to deliver in 34 days. In just over a month, Harper had tried and failed to hit a home run. It was an impressively frustrating run for the Phillies slugger.
•
Press Harbor homeless streak for 34 days
Since May 26, Bryce Harper has shot .227/.342/.268. He only has four doubles, not a single triple, and, of course, he has no home competition. He has accumulated an amazing -0.3 fWAR in that time.
To put it in context, Leo Mergenstern of Fangravs put it this way:
“Last time he hit a home run, the Reds had the worst record in the National League, and Shuhei Ohtani ranked 21st on the WAR’s combined leaderboard. At war.”
Baseball has changed dramatically since the last Phillies player went deep. While there are a lot of factors at play here, it begs the question of whether or not he was brought back from surgery.
Tommy John drains all the strength in the elbow, which is why it hurts so much for shooters. For hitters, that can cause blackouts and that can be a good thing Harper witness.
[ad_2]
