Bryce Harper reaches a new career high in home runs on a day he wasn’t supposed to play

We weren’t expecting much from Bryce Harper today. His season almost ended the other night and he was facing Francisco Liriano who has been the ‘Lights Out’ version lately.

Harper answered the bell, and until the whole Max Scherzer Perfect Game thing took over as the game’s biggest storyline; without a doubt it was Harper’s mammoth home run onto the lawn in center that would have grabbed headlines.

It looked like an 86 MPH slider he hit out to dead center.

I think when Harper got started on this home run binge, a lot of people figured we were seeing the breakout of a tremendous power hitter. As evidenced all year long and by his next at bat when he hit a single through the left side (he uses the whole field often), we are just seeing the development of a great all-around hitter. This is a guy who could pretty easily win a batting title it looks like and someone who perennially could be over the .300 mark.

There’s just no great book on how to get him out, which is why you see some of the hottest pitchers in the league surrendering hits and homers to him regularly.