Phillies insider highlights Aaron Judge’s struggles to "appreciate how good Bryce Harper is" at the plate
Aaron Judge's struggles on the World Series stage — despite his Game 5 performance offering a brief respite from the narrative — left one Philadelphia Phillies insider feeling grateful for Bryce Harper. Harper has been a premier postseason performer since coming to the Phillies.
In an episode of "The Phillies Show," Todd Zolecki expressed having renewed admiration for Harper after watching Judge's World Series performance.
"I've seen Aaron Judge's struggles, it's all over TV, all over the Internet, all over social media. He's swinging and missing a lot, he's chasing a lot of pitches," he said.
"I'm watching these World Series games, and I'm thinking you really appreciate how good Bryce Harper is considering how this guy gets nothing in the strike zone." (17:23 - 17:51)
Zolecki added that Bryce Harper gets under 40% of playoff pitches in the zone, ranking nearly dead last among postseason hitters. Despite that, his playoff numbers are excellent.
Harper has a career postseason OPS of over 1.100, and Zolecki noted that Harper's playoff average over the last three seasons is well over .300. Judge, meanwhile, was almost entirely silent until Games 4 and 5, when he went 3-for-6 with a single, a home run, a double, two RBI, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and a run scored.
Bryce Harper opens up on future after postseason exit
Bryce Harper's best efforts in the 2024 postseason went to waste. His Philadelphia Phillies fell in four games to the New York Mets. It was another disappointing end to the season, and the Phillies core isn't exactly young.
However, Harper, 32, isn't worried about that. He believes the Phillies will continue to be competitive in the foreseeable future, noting that the team’s decision to grant significant contracts to re-sign Aaron Nola and extend Zack Wheeler before this season demonstrates their commitment to long-term competitiveness.
He said via MLB.com:
"But, I think at the same time, you don’t pay Wheels (Zach Wheeler) and Noles (Aaron Nola) if you don't think you're going to be competitive for the next five years."
"Obviously, the [NL] East is going to get better. The Nationals are going to be a lot better next year, the Braves, obviously, are going to get better next year -- they're going to be healthy. Their young guys are really good over here [in New York]. They play really good baseball. Miami always has a pitching staff, right?"
While acknowledging that he’s not getting any younger, Harper said that he’s still at his peak and anticipates staying there for the next 10 years.
"This is going to be a crazy answer, but I think my prime is for the next 10 years," Harper said. "You know what I’m saying? I don’t think I’m faltering in any way."