For all Bryce Harper has accomplished in a Phillies uniform, there is one absence from his resume: an All-Star Game appearance. It looks very much like that blank will be filled in a few weeks.
The first results in the voting for the Midsummer Classic – to be held at Dodger Stadium in mid-July – find Harper as the leading vote-getter among National League designated hitters with 1,059,433 votes. He’s one of just three NL players with more than one million votes already, along with outfielders Mookie Betts of the Dodgers and Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña, Jr.
The 2021 NL MVP has a prohibitive lead over the competition. His vote total is nearly as much as the combined votes of the three players immediately behind him: William Contreras of the Braves, Albert Pujols of the Cardinals, and the Dodgers’ Max Muncy.
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Harper made six All-Star Games in his career, all during his seven-year tenure with the Nationals. He currently ranks in the top five in the National League in batting average (.326), on-base percentage (.391), and slugging percentage (.621).
Aside from Harper, the best Phillies performer in early voting is Didi Gregorius, who ranks sixth among NL shortstops, well behind the leader, Trea Turner of the Dodgers.