With Bryce Harper set to get surgery on his fractured thumb on Wednesday, Jim Salisbury discusses the likely hood on seeing Harp back in the batters box sooner rather than later.
ST. LOUIS – Bryce Harper expressed disappointment that he won’t be able to play in the All-Star Game on July 19 in Dodger Stadium.
Harper was elected as the National League’s starting designated hitter in fan balloting, the results of which were announced Friday night. It is the first time he’s been named to an All-Star team as a Phillie.
Overall, it is the seventh time Harper has been named an All-Star and sixth time he’s been elected a starter by the fans. He will not be able to play, however, because of a broken left thumb.
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“I’m really upset that I won’t be able to wear Phillies pinstripes in L.A. because of what happened, but I look forward to doing it again here soon in the future,” Harper said after learning of his election. “I love this organization and fan base and wish I could do it for them.”
Harper said he will not attend All-Star festivities because he wants to focus on recovering from his injuries. In addition to the broken thumb, he has a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and continues to receive treatment for that.
Harper, the 2021 NL MVP, suffered the elbow injury during the first week of the season and was forced to move from right field to DH. That didn’t stop him from putting up big numbers before going down with the broken thumb June 25 in San Diego. Despite missing the last 10 games, Harper still ranks second in the NL in batting average (.318) and OPS (.984). He has 15 homers and 48 RBIs. Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals leads the NL in batting average (.342) and OPS (1.046).
Before Harper, the Phillies had not had an All-Star elected by the fans since Chase Utley in 2014. J.T. Realmuto started at catcher for the NL last year as a substitute for Buster Posey.
MLB
Here are the results of the fan balloting for position player starters. Pitching staffs and the remainder of the All-Star rosters will be announced Sunday night.
National League
C – Willson Contreras
1B – Paul Goldschmidt
2B – Jazz Chisholm
3B – Manny Machado
SS – Trea Turner
OF – Ronald Acuna Jr.
OF – Mookie Betts
OF – Joc Pederson
DH – Bryce Harper
American League
C – Alejandro Kirk
1B – Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
2B – Jose Altuve
3B – Rafael Devers
SS – Tim Anderson
OF – Giancarlo Stanton
OF – Mike Trout
OF – Aaron Judge
DH – Shohei Ohtani
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