The spotlight has illuminated Phillies slugger Bryce Harper’s life for a significant duration. Commencing at 16, the entire baseball sphere has been captivated by his evolution from an amateur sensation excited like only a handful of prospects in history to a two-time National League MVP who is steadily paving his way toward Cooperstown.
Besides crushing opposing pitchers, Bryce Harper continues making headlines off the baseball diamond, and only sometimes for the right reasons. Discover Harper’s highlights and low points throughout his controversial 12-year career, his sensational love interests, and more.
How many home runs did Harper finish within 2023?
In 126 games, Bryce Harper slugged 21 home runs. In 457 at-bats, Harper helped lead the Phillies to the NL Championship Series with 134 hits and 72 RBIs. Harper also contributed 84 runs. Despite this MVP-caliber season, Harper’s Phillies lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a thrilling seven-game series. Ultimately, the Texas Rangers won their first-ever World Series.
Since coming to the Phillies in 2019 from the Washington Nationals, not only has Harper provided consistent slugging, with arguably his best year in Philadelphia coming in 2019, but he continues to be an enigma in Philly’s television market and a main attraction at the top sports betting sites in Pennsylvania. In 157 games, Harper blasted 35 home runs and 114 RBIs. He also has 149 hits and 98 runs. Throughout his career, Harper has held a .281 batting average, 1,513 hits, 306 home runs, and 889 RBIs and is shy of scoring 1,000 runs.
Harper’s Devastating Injury
While Harper makes headlines for all the right reasons, he has made them for arguing with umpires and being ejected, especially regarding injury. However, no injury was more significant than what he suffered, a partially torn UCL in May 2022; UCL, better known as Tommy John injury, is usually reserved for pitchers, most notably Atlanta Braves Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz.
Despite this, Harper avoided being placed on the injured list in 2022. Instead, he played through the injury and exclusively served as a designated hitter for the entirety of the season. In November, Harper underwent Tommy John surgery, a procedure that typically requires pitchers to be sidelined for over a year. However, position players tend to have a shorter recovery period.
Harper’s Miraculous Return
While Tommy John surgery usually sidelines pitchers for an entire calendar year, Harper defied all the odds by only keeping him out of the lineup for six months. After going under the knife in November 2022, it was believed that Harper wouldn’t return until after the 2023 All-Star Break. However, Harper was only sidelined for six months. Going beyond GM Dave Dombrowski’s original estimation of a late-May season debut, he made a comeback on May 2 instead.
Harper’s Wife Makes News Too
Bryce Harper found himself and his family amid an unexpected and concerning situation when news broke about his wife, Kayla Varner, and her recent accident. The incident, sensationalized throughout social media, especially TikTok, referred to as the “Bryce Harper Wife Accident,” has captured the public’s attention since making the rounds on June 20, 2023.
Ironically, plenty of misinformation spread on the night when Harper had a great game against his former club, the Washington Nationals. There was speculation that Harper arrived at the stadium to find his car stolen, to Harper himself being injured. Ultimately, Kayla Varner and their two kids were in a minor car accident and have since recovered fully and are doing well.
Bryce and Varner tied the knot in 2016 after their second engagement, which lasted six months. Both Kayla and Bryce are devout Mormons and kept their wedding private. However, one impressive detail did manage to get out about Harper’s wife’s ring – a specially cut diamond ring with emeralds.
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