Joe Giglio believes Bryce Harper will go down as the greatest athlete in the history of Philadelphia.
"If Bryce Harper gets this one [MVP], that'd be two in a Phillies uniform," Giglio said on Tuesday's 94WIP Midday Show with Hugh Douglas. "That'd be three overall. Hugh, I was thinking about Bryce Harper in his career in Philadelphia and what he has been so far and obviously a lot of time to go.
"There is a love between Bryce Harper and the fans of Philadelphia that is enormous. And when you factor in his play, which has been great as a Phillie. The postseason stuff which has been great, although obviously we need a championship on top of it. And the way the city feels about him. Hugh, it's pretty obvious what is happening in front of our eyes.
"He's got a long time to go. And I believe we're watching Bryce Harper become, on the path, he'll end up as the greatest athlete in Philadelphia sports history...I believe when Bryce Harper's career is over, he will be talked and said as, he's the best athlete to ever play in Philadelphia."
Giglio later added he agreed that Harper needs to win a World Series to cement himself as the greatest Philadelphia athlete ever. Giglio believes that the Phillies will win the World Series in 2024 .
Howard Eskin, who joined Giglio and Douglas at 11:30am on today's 94WIP Midday Show , said there is no way Harper passes Mike Schmidt.
"Mike Schmidt was the best third baseman in the history of Major League Baseball," Eskin said. "How are you going to pass a guy like that? If [Schmidt] played in these Mickey Mouse little ballparks that exist today he'd have 650 home runs."
Recently, Giglio (as well as the High Hopes podcast guys Jack Fritz and James Seltzer ) have made the case that Harper is playing the best baseball of his career.
On Monday night, Harper went 3-5 with two doubles, a home run and 5 RBI in an 8-1 Phillies win, helping them improve to an MLB best 52-26.
This season, Harper is slashing an impressive .303/.401/.577 with 19 home runs (t-6th most in MLB), 56 RBI (t-5th most in MLB), and 18 doubles in 73 games so far this season.
As Giglio mentioned, Harper is looking for his second MVP award as a Phillie and third for his career.
In 30 career playoff games with the Phillies over the last two seasons, Harper is slashing .324/.432/.705 with a 1.137 OPS, 11 home runs, and 21 RBI. Harper has continuously come up clutch in the biggest of moments as well, highlighted by his "Bedlam at the Bank" NLCS series winning home run in 2022 against the Padres.
Harper, who turns 32 in October, signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies in March of 2019 and has publicly stated he wants to finish his career in Philadelphia.
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