Major League Baseball announced the 2023 Silver Slugger Award winners and Phillies superstar Bryce Harper won his third Silver Slugger award.
Harper won the at designated hitter position. He beat out J.D. Martinez-Dodgers, Marcel Ozuna-Braves and Jorge Soler-Marlins.
Harper missed the first six weeks of the season while recovering from offseason Tommy John surgery.
For the 2023 season, Harper had 21 home runs and 72 RBIs with a .293 batting average in 126 games. Sixteen of his 21 home runs this season came in a 49-game span from August 5th to September 30th.
This is Harper’s second Silver Slugger award with the Phillies. He previously wone in 2021 and his first-ever Silver Slugger award came in 2015 as a member of the Washington Nationals.
The Phillies had three other nominees for the Silver Slugger Award. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and J.T. Realmuto were nominees at their respective positions. Harper was the only Phillies player to win
Harper was moved to first base after the All-Star break. He made 36 starts at the position and played every game of the postseason at first base.
Harper was previously an outfielder, before the injury. He wasn’t able to return their last year, due to the fact that his arm wasn’t well enough to make throws from the outfield.
The Phillies have indicated that Harper will now be the Phillies full-time first baseman moving forward.
Phillies slugger Bryce Harper. Photo courtesy of Matt Slocum | AP photo
