Mike Schmidt: Harper is clear MVP, he's Pete Rose with power

It’s that time of the baseball year again, the individual award season. Who’s the MVP? Who’s the Cy Young winner? Rookie of the Year?

Does the MVP have to come from a team in the postseason? Does MVP mean “most valuable player to a team” or “best player in the league”? There’s never been a clear-cut answer to these.

I’ve got one clear-cut answer for you: Bryce Harper is THE most valuable player to his team in the National League. He’s the clear-cut MVP if the definition is truly Most VALUABLE Player.

Shouldn’t this award go to the position player whose team would be most at a loss without him? The Braves have Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley, all at 30 homers or more. The Braves would contend if they lost any one of them. Max Muncy, a Dodgers candidate, is near 35 HRs and 90 RBIs, and Justin Turner and Will Smith each have 25 homers and upward of 80 RBIs, a pretty solid threesome.

Fernando Tatis Jr., with nearly 40 HRs and 100 RBIs, has had a magnificent year, some would say an MVP-caliber year. But he has support from Manny Machado, who will have 30 HRs and 100 RBIs, and the Padres have all but fallen out postseason contention. The Giants, a nice surprise in the NL, are getting big contributions from Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt.

Bryce Harper is an enigma. You either love him or hate him, as they say. He plays every day and he plays hard. He loves pressure and is not afraid to fail, and he puts “it” out there -- “it” meaning he knows he’s the center of attention and enjoys being “the man." Most players don’t have that kind of talent, or don’t want the pressure.

I can sum this all up: He is today’s Pete Rose with power.

From opening day till August 1, Harper would agree he was at best a mediocre player. He still looked much like the...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Mike-Schmidt-Harper-is-clear-MVP-he-s-Pete-Rose-16481142.php