One of the single greatest offensive seasons ever?

Well we all know that Bryce Harper had an extraordinary season, but just how insane was it.  In the 2015 season Harper has a slash line of .330/.460/.649 while qualifying for the batting title.  A feat that has only been done 34 times by 14 of some of the greatest players ever such as Ruth, Bonds, and Mantle.  If you then account for him having a bWAR of 9.9, the list drops to 20 times by 8 players: Williams, Ruth, Mantle, Hornsby, Gehrig, Foxx, Bonds and Harper.  Add in that Bryce Harper did it all at the age of 22 and the list includes just him and first ballot Hall of Famer Ted Williams

42 or more home runs have been hit 227 times, only 8 times by players 22 or younger.  A batting average over .330 while qualifying for the batting title has been done 799 times, only 29 times by a player 22 or younger.  And a player walking 124 or more times has been accomplished the least often but still 104 times, only 3 times by a player 22 or younger (Harper, Ted Williams, Adam Dunn).  But do you know how many times these three items have been done together?  15 times by 6 players, the list of those players is: Ruth, Bonds, Gehrig, Williams, Giambi and Bryce Harper.  But that is not all.  If you account for his bWAR of 9.9, a feat only done 61 times alone, the list is just Bryce Harper, Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds.  Once again accounting for Bryce Harper being 22 and he stands alone.

Not only are his traditional statistical numbers ridiculous but his more advanced statistical numbers only improve upon his season.  Harper finished 2015 with an OPS+ of 195 a feat only accomplished 60 times in the history of baseball, this list once again drops to just him and Ted Williams once accounting for him being only 22.  His Runs Created in 2015 was 161 which has been done 84 times, he is one of 3 players to do this in their age 22 season, the other two are Joe DiMaggio in 1937 and Ted Williams in 1941. His Situations Runs (RE24/boLI) was a ridiculous 84.345, which has only been done 32 times and Harper is the only one to do it at the age of 22 or younger.  The next closest to him in 2015 was Joey Votto who still ended the year far behind at 68.970.

Bryce Harper had one of the greatest offensive seasons ever and arguably the greatest by a player at the age of 22 or younger (Ted Williams vs. Bryce Harper at the age of 22 would be a fun debate).  Harper winning National League MVP is a lock and he should honestly win it unanimously.

National Disaster: The Ending to a Disappointing Season

No matter who you ask they will tell you that a team has to finish strong down the final stretch of September.  That is exactly what the Washington Nationals did in 2014, but 2015 is a completely different story.

September 28, 2014: Washington Nationals starters go 13-0 with a 0.89 ERA down the stretch. This was capped off by a Jordan Zimmerman no-hitter against the Miami Marlins, in a game where Henderson Alvarez was the starter.  The same Henderson Alvarez who threw a no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers to end the 2013 season but this game went very differently for the Marlins.  Zimmerman allowed only 2 base runners, a walk to Justin Bour and a wild pitch strike 3 to Garrett Jones (picked off almost immediately by Wilson Ramos), while striking out 10, throwing 104 pitches with pinpoint accuracy (79 strikes and 25 balls). This was the first no-hitter thrown by a Washington pitcher since Bobby Burke threw one for the Senators in 1931 against Boston. But not only was it the perfect ending to a season that saw the Nationals win 96 games but even this perfect ending had a perfect ending to it thanks to a remarkable diving catch by Steven Souza with two outs in the ninth inning to preserve the incredible start by Jordan Zimmerman.

So now jump ahead a year.

September 28, 2015: The Washington Nationals' clubhouse is in shambles and the phrase "any press is good press" no longer applies thanks to the ending to the train wreck that they have called a season. Today Max Scherzer threw 7.2 innings of no-hit baseball before allowing 2 hits and a run with 10 strikeouts across 8 innings.  But even that is not enough to overshadow the main event of yesterday, Jonathan Papelbon attacking Bryce Harper.

In the bottom of the eighth inning of Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Bryce Harper hit a pop fly to left and disappointedly dropped his head before jogging down the line to first.  No big deal right?  Especially considering it was the first game since the Nationals were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention but Papelbon decided he wanted to "teach" the National League MVP a lesson about always giving it your all.  As Bryce was walking back into the dugout Papelbon was screaming at him so Bryce gave a little back and then Papelbon decided his words were not enough, so he pushed Bryce up against the dugout wall with his hand around his throat before being pulled off.  After this Bryce Harper left the game (not due to injury), while Papelbon went out and pitched the ninth inning, which is absolutely ridiculous considering he attacked another member of his team.  After the game Matt Williams was asked why he still let Papelbon pitch the ninth inning and his answer was "He's our closer", which is absolutely ridiculous and embarrassing answer if you ask me, even if it was later rescinded because he was not aware of the severity of the situation.  That second answer could honestly be worse considering Williams was in the dugout at the time and it means he did not take the time to actually see what was happening among his players during the game.  There has been talk of Williams being out as the manager of the Nationals after this season and it was almost 100% but once you account for this whole debacle it can't be almost 100% it needs to be done.  It is a manager's job to be aware of what is going on in his dugout and among his players and his answer just shows how oblivious he is to what goes on around him no matter how important it is.

Williams, on why he let Papelbon pitch the ninth, given he put his hands on Harper's throat: "He's our closer."

— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) September 27, 2015

Williams said they will keep it internal. "A family issue." Wouldn't say whether Pap would be suspended or why Harper came out of the game.

— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) September 27, 2015

Neither player was immediately suspended for the incident but that changed earlier today.  Papelbon was suspended four games, starting Thursday, by the Nationals' front office who stated in a press release that "the behavior exhibited by Papelbon yesterday is not acceptable," and "that is not at all in line with the way our players are expected to conduct themselves and the Nationals organization will not tolerate it in any way."  Add that to the three game suspension Papelbon is now serving for dropping his appeal for throwing at Manny Machado and Papelbon will not return and pitch for the Nationals again this season.  And if the Nationals front office handles this correctly he will never throw another inning for them.  Whether that be trading him this offseason or just releasing him all together and eating the $11 million that they still owe him for the option they were forced to pick-up when they made the deal for him.  I realize $11 million is a lot of money to just pay without any performance but considering Bryce Harper is the face of their franchise and under control through the 2018 season, that is just a small price to pay.

But let's be completely honest here this had little to nothing to do with Bryce Harper not sprinting down the line to first.  Everyone knows that there are occasions where Bryce won't fully run out a fly ball but the majority of the time he is the most competitive player on the field, has an incredible work ethic and is completely committed to the Nationals winning ballgames.  And if you don't remember he has been ripped in the past for playing too hard and sacrificing his body to make a play.  So don't let anyone fool you there is not a more dedicated player on the Nationals.  So while I can't say with 100% certainty, I feel it is safe to say that this has very much to do with what happened when Papelbon hit Machado back on September 23.  To begin with the Orioles' bench cleared and the Nationals' players did not really move or come to Papelbon's defense.  And the bigger reason for this is after the game when asked about the whole situation Harper said "I mean, Manny freaking hit a homer....[and he].....Walked it off, and somebody drilled him. I mean, it's pretty tired. It's one of those situations where it happens, and, I don't know, I'll probably get drilled tomorrow."  Bryce used this to publicly call out a player with a bad temper who knows his teammates don't have his back, I don't think it is a coincidence that this now happens less than a week later.

But with the exception of the actual fight the worst part about it, isn't the way Matt Williams and the Nationals' handled the situation (at least initially).  The worst part is the way people and other players DEFENDED Papelbon's actions, like choking your teammate is ok.  Choking your teammate or another person for that matter is not ok no matter the circumstance.  Can you imagine if a prosecutor got annoyed in court and started choking the defense attorney?  Or can you imagine if a doctor got annoyed at another doctor for the way they were handling something like paperwork and just attacked him?

Joe Girardi: "Well I think the first thing you want to do is break it up because you don't want players to get hurt. It's a tough thing to go through as an organization. It's a game where there are heated exchanges sometimes, sometimes you go overboard, there's frustration in this game and sometimes it's not handled the way you want it to be handled. But you have to deal with it and you have to move on from it and try to learn from it. Those are the things we're going through. My guess is that they'll get to spring training and it probably won't mean nothing. But right now it's just a heightened situation."

David Murphy on Papelbon v Harper "Papelbon is trying to be a leader, its good to see other players holding their teammates accountable"1/2

— MLB Network Radio (@MLBNetworkRadio) September 28, 2015

More Murphy on Papelbon "but the physical altercation was unnecessary"

— MLB Network Radio (@MLBNetworkRadio) September 28, 2015

Bengie Molina also tweeted something along the lines of: it is ridiculous that Papelbon was suspended for trying to be a leader and yelling at an entitled young "superstar"; but I can no longer find the actual tweet because it was taken down.  It is a disgrace that these these veterans who the young players are supposed to look up to are condoning violence.  To say that it is just a part of the game is an unacceptable answer to violently attacking and CHOKING another player.  But not everyone sided with Papelbon.  Cliff Floyd and Mark DeRosa publicly came out and said that what Papelbon did was not acceptable and Floyd took it a step further and said that if it was him, he would be planning his retaliation.  At the end of the day this will eventually blow over and most likely be concluded with Matt Williams and Jonathan Papelbon no longer members of the Washington Nationals' organization.

Cliff Floyd on Harper/Papelbon: "They took the route of big brother. Big brother this and you have little brothers and all this. Cut that."

— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) September 28, 2015

Floyd: "At the end of the day, you're not gonna choke me out with the intent that I saw yesterday."

— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) September 28, 2015

Floyd on Harper/Papelbon: "You cross the line when you touch me. You're not my big brother no more."

— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) September 28, 2015

Cliff Floyd: "If I'm Bryce Harper, I am waiting at [Papelbon's] front door today cuz this ain't over."

— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) September 28, 2015

DeRosa calls Papelbon an animal. Floyd replies: "The animal is not gonna attack me in the dugout without repercussions."

— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) September 28, 2015

Floyd: "What I heard from Harp's remarks, I don't think it's over." DeRosa: "No. Not even close. He don't like him."

— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) September 28, 2015

Vasgersian: "Can Jonathan Papelbon come back to this team next year?" DeRosa: "Yes." Floyd: "I don't think he can."

— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) September 28, 2015

Floyd: "If you want your superstar happy, Papelbon is gone at the end of the season... You made this bed for yourself, bruh."

— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) September 28, 2015

The Bryce Harper vs. Yoenis Cespedes MVP Debate

The Most Valuable Player or MVP is not always a player from the best team or even a player on a team that makes the playoffs, the MVP is the player who means the most to his team win or lose.  The Baseball Writers' Association of America tells their members very little in regard to who “qualifies” as an MVP candidate.  They do send out a letter every year though and one of the things they do specifically state is that “the MVP need not come from a division winner or other playoff qualifier”, that’s because a team makes the playoffs not a single player by himself, a player should not be looked up as better because his team is in first place, just like a player shouldn’t be looked upon worse because his team is in last place.  Just look at Ernie Banks, one of the greatest baseball players ever.  He won NL MVP in both 1958 and 1959 despite the Cubs finishing 10 games under .500 in ’58 and 6 games under .500 in ’59.  Are people looking back to those years and saying he didn’t deserve to win MVP because the Chicago Cubs didn’t make the playoffs, no they are not.  Look at Ryan Howard in 2006, he finished the year hitting .313 with 58 home runs and won NL MVP based off his numbers, he wasn’t wrongfully penalized by voters because the Phillies finished 12 games back of the Mets in the NL East.  Then we can look at the inverse of that, in 1992 Dennis Eckersley won AL MVP as a member of the Oakland Athletics, a team that won the AL West by 6 games.  Despite his team making the playoffs he did not deserve to win MVP in 1992, he wasn’t even the best MVP candidate on his own team, Mark McGwire was.  Why should a player’s MVP candidacy be disputed because of the other 24 players on a team’s roster and because of decisions made by his own coaches and members of the team’s front office?

Ever since Yoenis Cespedes had his first multi-hit game for the New York Mets on August 3^rd against the Marlins, a game in which he had three hits all doubles and four RBIs in a 12-1 win, he has appeared in the National League Most Valuable Player discussion.  Then on August 21^st against the Colorado Rockies when he went five for six with three home runs, a double, seven RBIs and a stolen base this discussion became part of the MVP debate and the talks really escalated.  At this point they were 12-6 with him and this was the beginning of a seven game winning streak, the second five game winning streak they had in their brief time with Cespedes.

Since that time he has hit nine more home runs, bringing him up to fourteen in his first 36 games with the Mets, including six already in the first eight games of September.  Over those same eight games he has 16 of the Mets 84 hits (19.048%) and has accounted for 13 of their 53 RBIs (24.528%).  So while those numbers might look ridiculous even for an eight game period there is another MVP candidate who has played even better not only over those eight games, not only over the whole span of Cespedes being a member of the Mets, but over the course of the whole 2015 season, Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals.

Cespedes as a member of the Met: .312/.357/.675

Harper since the Cespedes trade: .352/.491/.600

Cespedes in all of 2015: .298/.333/.554

Harper in all of 2015: .336/.467/.657

This extreme differential in on base percentage can be attributed to the contrast in walks.  Since becoming a member of the Mets, Cespedes has walked nine times and 28 times total in 2015 compared to Harper who has walked 35 times just since Cespedes became a Met and 109 times in 2015, which ranks second in baseball to only Joey Votto.  So while Cespedes and his OPS of 1.032 (36 games) have been a great addition to the Mets, the Nationals would be one of the worst offensive teams in baseball without Bryce Harper and his MLB best OPS of 1.124 and his MLB best wRC+ of 201 (0.104 and 23 ahead of second place Miguel Cabrera) (2015 season).

Bryce Harper has not only been the best player in the National League and the best player in all of baseball this year but the season he is putting up at the age of 22 is one of the best ever.  According to baseball reference WAR calculations if the season ended today Bryce Harper would finish with a WAR of 9.0 which would be good for 8^th best ever by a player 22 or younger, ahead of the season Mike Trout had for the Angels back in 2013 (8.9), ahead of even the season Trout had last year when he won AL MVP (7.9) and ahead of the season Eddie Mathews had for the Milwaukee Braves back in 1953 (8.3) when he hit 47 home runs, the most ever by a player 22 or younger.  But some people don’t like WAR so we can look at his slash line also, the ONLY other player to have slash line like Harper’s or better at the age of 22 or younger is Ted Williams back in 1941 (.406/.553/.735).  And do you know the last time any player had a slash line like Harper’s or better, it was Barry Bonds in 2004 and guess what he won, NL MVP.  So before you say that Cespedes deserves to be NL MVP or even really be in the discussions, think about this, Harper’s current slash line has only been produced 27 times, by 12 players, 7 of whom are in the Hall of Fame but I know the Nationals aren’t going to make the playoffs so Harper can’t be as valuable to his team.