‘430 Billion Man’ Bryce Harper (31, Philadelphia) is taking on an unfamiliar challenge in his 12th year in the big leagues. He changed his position from an outfielder to a first baseman.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, an American 메이저사이트 media outlet, recently reported, “The overall reaction of league officials to Harper, who has transformed into a first baseman, is positive.”
“However, Philadelphia defensive coach Bobby Dickerson said, ‘Harper has never had a hard throw from first base to another base. We’ll have to see how hard and accurate he can throw when he has to throw to another base. And I have to go through it,’ he said, and there are still mountains to overcome to completely transform into a first baseman.”
Rob Thompson (60), head coach of Philadelphia, expressed a similar view. “It’s only been a few games since Harper became a first baseman,” he told the local press. I have to see if I can show myself,” he said, making it clear that Harper’s transformation was not a simple consideration for stamina or injury prevention.
Harper, a right-handed and left-handed hitter from Nevada, USA, was selected by Washington with the first overall pick in the first round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft and entered the professional league. And he stepped up to the major league stage in 2012, just two years after being the overall first pick.
His quick debut was also surprising, but Harper’s time was coming, as he won the National League Rookie of the Year with a batting average of .270, 22 homers and 59 RBIs in his first year. Since then, he has grown into an outfielder representing the league, sweeping various awards such as 7 All-Stars, 2 National League Most Valuable Player (MVP), and National League Home Run King (2015).
His career performance in the big leagues, including this season, is a batting average of 0.280 (1463 hits in 5217 at-bats), 290 homers, 849 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.906 in 1459 games. In 2019, he qualified as a free agent (FA) and transferred to Philadelphia for 13 years and 330 million dollars (approximately 431.6 billion won).
However, after damaging the medial collateral ligament in his right elbow, where he threw the ball, during the season last year, he played only as a designated hitter instead of right fielder, which was his original position. And in November, after the season, he underwent Tommy John surgery (elbow ligament joint surgery).
Harper, who has been focusing on rehabilitation since then, was scheduled to return to the field during the All-Star break this season, but joined the team earlier in May. However, he only played as a designated hitter on offense to prevent a recurrence of the injury. He started playing first base only in 9 games, including the game against Kansas City on the 5th (Korean time).
Until last year, Harper played 1328 games as an outfielder and 106 as a designated hitter. His first baseman experience was only two games (2018, 2021), and that was a substitute business trip, not a starter.
Dickerson’s defensive coach said, “Harper’s decision to transform into a first baseman looks good and good so far. He works tirelessly to adapt to his new environment (first base) on the field every day, and so far it’s going well without major problems. “Harper has experience as a third baseman in the past as an amateur and has excellent athleticism, so he will be able to do well,” he said.
The media said, “Coach Dickerson provides dedicated coaching by drawing various situations, such as how to position the defense between first and second base on the field every day for Harper’s successful defensive position change, and how to prepare and deal with bunt situations. are doing,” he said.
In addition, he predicted that Harper’s transformation into first base would be difficult to produce results in a short time, saying, “But practice and actual play are different. Therefore, in order to defend first base stably, a lot of practice as well as various experiences are required.” In fact, on the 31st of last month, when defending first base against Pittsburgh, Harper missed a ground ball while trying to catch it sideways, and then fumbled the ball while trying to pick it up again, eventually giving up an infield hit.