With a bit more than a week left in the 2015 MLB regular season, the Washington Nationals were officially eliminated from playoff contention. As the Mets sealed the NL East title, the Nationals were certain to complete what can now be considered one of the most disappointing seasons in recent baseball history. Washington’s offseason will now be certainly full of drama and question marks all around the roster, as the franchise has to wonder why it all went wrong.
In the middle of all this mess, the Nationals can at least take solace in the fact that they employed 2015’s best hitter. In his age-22 season, Bryce Harper delivered on his promise and then some, posting a truly historic season. He leads the National League in runs and homers, while also being tops in three slash-line categories (average/OBP/slugging). He is first in WAR among hitters by a more than two full wins over second-place Joey Votto, while having almost the same advantage over pitching leader Clayton Kershaw.
What pushes Harper over the top comes from his weighted runs created plus (wRC+), which stands at a staggering 203. This means that, adjusted for ballpark and run environment, Harper’s offensive output is more than twice better than league average. Should Harper hold this figure to close out the season, he will join the likes of Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, and a few other historic batters as the only ones who posted a wRC+ season above 200.
Harper has been the MVP front-runner for most of the season, and it seems as if he will be able to overcome the fact that his team won’t make the postseason. While we continue to struggle in define what value means exactly, Washington’s right fielder has been the best player in the National League by a wide margin, and it is not his fault that the team around him has underperformed. Even as a few voters might downgrade Harper for his non-playoff status, he remains the odds-on favorite to win the MVP.
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