Team USA's Bryce Harper predicted to make future WBC decision due to 'past his prime' concerns
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Team USA's Bryce Harper predicted to make future WBC decision due to 'past his prime' concerns originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Bryce Harper was not exactly tearing the cover off the ball at the World Baseball Classic.
The Philadelphia Phillies star and Team USA's starting first baseman ended the tournament with just six hits and one walk in 30 trips to the plate, good for a subpar .624 OPS.
Last night, Harper sent a 93 mph changeup from Venezuela's Andres Machado over the center field wall at loanDepot Park in Miami to tie the WBC championship game at two in the bottom of the eighth inning.
If Harper's homer had won the game for Team USA, every one of his eight strikeouts or ground ball outs would've been forgotten. But it's hard to ignore his decline in offensive production, FanSided's Christopher Kline wrote Wednesday.
Prediction sees Harper not play in 2029 WBC
Despite being one of the leaders in the clubhouse for the United States, Kline believes team officials will not consider him for the 2029 WBC.
"There is, however, a simple truth we must acknowledge: Harper is past his prime. When Dave Dombrowski questioned whether or not Harper could be "elite" again, it was a silly and avoidable mistake," Kline wrote, adding that the Phillies' president of baseball operations (Dombrowski) should have kept his comments about Harper to himself.
"It was also the truth, whether Harper is ready to admit it or not. His production last season fell well short of his own lofty standards."
Perhaps a disappointing WBC will spark something in Harper to open the regular season on a hot streak with the Phillies.
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