Hall of Famer Rod Carew names Bryce Harper ‘most talented’
Hall of Famer Rod Carew was one of the best to ever play the game, so when he says someone is great, it’s safe to say he knows what he’s talking about.
This week, a Twitter user asked Carew who he thinks the most talented hitters on current MLB rosters are, and this was his answer:
@MikeTrout, @Arraez_21 , Xander Bogaerts, @bryceharper3, @OfficialBuck103
— Rod Carew (@RodCarew_29) January 17, 2022
Who am I missing? https://t.co/zFaeMGKJCB
While several fans told him that he was missing fellow stars such as Juan Soto and Ronald Acunà Jr., naming Bryce Harper as one of the best hitters in baseball is a fair assessment.
In 2021, the Philadelphia Phillies star won his second NL MVP award by hitting a career-high, MLB-leading 42 doubles, and leading all hitters in slugging, OPS, and OPS+. He and Cy Young runner-up Zack Wheeler are essentially the reason the Phillies were relevant in September and had a chance at making the postseason.
So far in his decade-long career between the Washington Nationals and Phillies, Harper has won Rookie of the Year, two Silver Slugger awards, two MVPs, a Home Run Derby, and been elected to six All-Star Games.
In his own 19-year career from 1967-85, Carew was an All-Star in every season but his last. He led MLB in runs scored once, hits twice, on-base percentage twice, and batting average five times in six years between 1973-78. His lifetime numbers were a superb .328/.393/.429 and a .822 OPS.