Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper won the National League MVP for the second time in his career, it was announced Wednesday on MLB Network.
Harper received 17 first-place votes and 348 points in balloting by 30 Baseball Writers Association of America voters. He outdistanced Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto (six first-place votes, 274 points) and San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. (two first-place votes, 244 points) in the balloting.
Harper also won the award in 2015 when he was a member of the Washington Nationals.
“I’m overwhelmed, I’m very excited,” said a tearful Harper in a live televised interview on the MLB Network following the announcement.
Harper, 29, batted .309 with 35 homers and 84 RBIs in 141 games. He had a .429 on-base percentage, led the majors with a .615 slugging percentage and was tied for the MLB lead with 42 doubles.
The former No. 1 overall pick is the first Phillies’ player to win the award since Jimmy Rollins in 2007.
“This year was tough. Getting hit in the face,” Harper said, referring to the April 28 incident when he was struck by left-hander Genesis Cabrera of the St. Louis Cardinals. “It was definitely a tough couple weeks for me trying to get back. My teammates were incredible throughout the whole process.”
Soto, 23, hit .313 with 29 homers and 95 RBIs. He led the majors with a .465 on-base percentage and 145 walks. He also had a .534 slugging percentage in 151 games.
The 22-year-old Tatis batted .282 with a NL-leading 42 homers and also had 97 RBIs with 25 steals. Tatis had a .304 on-base percentage and .611 slugging percentage in 130 games.
San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford received four first-place votes while finishing fourth (213). Trea Turner, who split the season with the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers, was fifth. He got one first-place vote and had 185 points.
–Field Level Media
