Bryce Harper Archives | Baseball Essential

The Philadelphia Phillies Need Their Stars to Play the Part to Stand a Chance in the NL East

Jun 19, 2020

Major League Baseball, Opinions & Predictions, Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies have high-profile players across their roster, but to stand a chance in the National League East they need their stars to play up to the esteem they're held in. When alluding to sta...

Money is Distorting the Player Bryce Harper Has Always Been

Robbie Stratakos

May 4, 2019

Opinions & Predictions, Philadelphia Phillies

Bryce Harper signs a $330 million deal, gets off to a hot start, and then goes into a big slump, headlined by his batting average dropping to .234. Of course, when you ink a contract of that magnitude expectati...

Some Ideas to Stop Beanball Wars and Bench-Clearing “Brawls” (and Why MLB Won’t Implement Them)

Jeff J. Snider

Apr 9, 2019

Features, Major League Baseball, Opinions & Predictions

I have ideas. Some of those ideas are simple ways to eliminate (or at least drastically reduce) beanball wars and bench-clearing "brawls." I have to put "brawls" in quotes because they're generally more like an...

Why Does Mike Trout’s Contract Make More Sense Than Bryce Harper’s?

Jeff J. Snider

Mar 20, 2019

Contract, Features, Los Angeles Angels

Did you read this headline and click on the link just to see if the answer was "Because Mike Trout is a lot better than Bryce Harper"? If so, you're in luck, because that's the short answer! You're so smart! Bu...

If Bryce Harper is a Magnet for Talent, Then he is a Steal

Tom Gibbons

Mar 12, 2019

Contract, Features, Major League Baseball, Opinions & Predictions

Bryce Harper believes he can bring more value than just his on-field performance to the Philadelphia Phillies. No, we're not talking about how he can help the team sell prodigious amounts of T-shirts. He's a...

The Odds Are Against Harper and the Phillies

Jeff J. Snider

Mar 5, 2019

Features, Opinions & Predictions, Statistics

A common refrain heard this offseason is that you just rarely see free agents as good and as young as Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. This is undeniably true. But when the subtext is "... so we have no idea how...

Free Agency: Ranking Bryce Harper’s Suitors Based on Fit

Robbie Stratakos

Feb 10, 2019

Major League Baseball, Offseason, Opinions & Predictions

Perennial All-Star outfielder Bryce Harper remains a free agent. The first two-thirds of that sentence makes its ending remarkable. The reason why this three-month drag has taken place isn't because of one part...

The Milford Academy Was Right: Stan Kasten Should Be Neither Seen nor Heard

Jeff J. Snider

Jan 28, 2019

Features, Headlines, Los Angeles Dodgers, Opinions & Predictions

Imagine that Derek Jeter held a press conference this afternoon and said, "The Miami Marlins have always been committed to winning, and we believe that the team we have assembled is as good as any team in baseb...

Collusion or Not, a Labor Battle is Brewing

Jeff J. Snider

Jan 17, 2019

Major League Baseball, Offseason, Opinions & Predictions

The word "collusion" occurs only once in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, and that is in a parenthetical remark in the confidentiality c...

Nationals: Dozier Signing is the Latest Excuse to Let Harper Walk

Robbie Stratakos

Jan 12, 2019

Opinions & Predictions, Washington Nationals

Another week and another transaction for the Washington Nationals -- or, at least that's how it feels at this point. Thursday morning, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that the Nationals agreed to a one-year, $9 mil...

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