Bryce Harper is officially an All-Star, having won the final balloting for the National League’s designated hitter spot when the voting ended Friday afternoon.
Harper defeated Atlanta’s William Contreras in the final voting, but of course, he will not be able to play in what would be his seventh All-Star Game because of his broken left thumb.
“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 Friday night. “I love this organization and fan base and wish I could do it for them.”
The vote marked the sixth time Harper has been voted in as a starter – and his first All-Star nod as a Phillie – but he will not attend the festivities in Los Angeles to concentrate on recovering from both the broken thumb and the partially torn UCL in his right elbow that limited him to DH duty as it was.
The 2021 NL MVP has been limited to DH’ing since early April because of the torn UCL, but before suffering the broken thumb, he was hitting .318 with 15 home runs, 48 RBI, and a .984 OPS.
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Harper was the first Phillie elected an All-Star starter since Chase Utley in 2014, although J.T. Realmuto started at catcher last year in place of Buster Posey.
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