Bryce Harper is an incredibly good baseball player. The New York Yankees are an unfathomably wealthy organization. Following the 2018 season these two facts could converge to help author the biggest contract in the history of baseball.
The operative word being ‘could.’ The inevitability of such an event has likely been overstated, but the Yankees are certainly the favorites to land Harper when he hits free agency. This notion has been floating around in the baseball world for a long time now, but Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports returned it to public consciousness the other day.
One of the reasons this potential is so appealing to Yankees fans is because of the “big left-handed hitter coming to Yankee Stadium” phenomenon. The right-field porch at Yankee Stadium is either a blessing or a cruel joke depending on your point of view, but there’s no doubt that being left-handed will allow you to enjoy more home runs in pinstripes.
It’s not that the Yankees haven’t had worthy right-handed power bats, after all they do employ a man by the name of Alex Rodriguez. But when you think of balls flying out of Yankee Stadium you think of the right field fence. However, just because someone stands to right side of home plate, it doesn’t mean they’re perfectly-suited to Yankee Stadium by definition. For example, a guy like Joey Votto would be amazing in pinstripes because he’s amazing, but the way he sprays the ball wouldn’t best take advantage of his hypothetical home ballpark.
So, how would Yankee Stadium suit Harper? As it turns out, better every day.
One of the biggest changes for the 23-year-old during his MVP season was his tendency to pull the ball more and pull it hard. He still hit the ball all over the park, but there was a greater emphasis on knocking it to right than in previous seasons.
| Time Period | Pull% | Center% | Opposite% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-2014 | 35.9% | 36.9% | 27.2% |
| 2015 | 45.4% | 33.8% | 20.8% |
He didn’t become a left-handed Jose Bautista overnight, but clearly he put a greater emphasis on pulling the ball. Not only did he turn on more pitches, he also had more success when he did so.
| Time Period | Line Drive % | Ground Ball% | Fly Ball% | GB/FB | AVG | SLG | wRC+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-2014 | 20.0% | 59.7% | 20.3% | 2.94 | .363 | .710 | 195 |
| 2015 | 27.4% | 46.4% | 26.3% | 1.77 | .417 | .893 | 261 |
He was no slouch before, but in 2015 Harper did a better job of keeping the ball off the ground and better results followed.
As he comes into his own as a hitter, and nears free agency, it appears that the Nationals outfielder is a player who’s pulling the ball more and putting it in the air more frequently when he does. This isn’t an approach that works for everyone, but it’s certainly a good look for a premier power hitter. It’s also certainly a Yankee Stadium-friendly adjustment.
Too much can happen in the next three years to say with any kind of certainty that Harper will be a Yankee. That being said, were it to happen, no one would be shocked.
Yankees fans would undoubtedly be ecstatic to see a generational talent like Harper don the pinstripes, and if he continues to evolve the way he did last year he could repay their adulation with plenty of souvenirs. At least for the fans sitting in right field.
Lead photo: Anthony Gruppuso/USA Today Sports