“Good luck Arizona” superstar Harper finally wins WS…Philadelphia tops MLB.com power rankings

Bryce Harper, 31, of the Philadelphia Phillies, will try to win his first career World Series title.

MLB.com, the official site of Major League Baseball, on Thursday released its power rankings for the four teams advancing to both league championship series. The Phillies, who were ranked fifth out of 12 teams at the start of the postseason, moved to No. 1.

The Phillies entered the postseason as the No. 1 wild card in the National League with a 90-72 record this season. After advancing to the Division Series with a two-game sweep of second-place Miami (84-78) in the Wild Card Series, the Phillies met Atlanta (104-58), who led the majors in winning percentage this season. While most experts picked Atlanta to win, Philadelphia pulled off an upset, sweeping Atlanta in three games 토토사이트.

With Philadelphia advancing to the National League Championship Series, the Phillies have a chance to win their first World Series title. Harper, who won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2012 and rivaled Mike Trout (Angels) for the American League Rookie of the Year award that same year, has had a somewhat up-and-down career, unlike Trout, who has gone on to become one of the best players in the majors. But he’s played like a superstar, winning National League MVP honors in 2015 and 2022, and this season he’s batting .290 (134-for-457) with 21 home runs, 72 RBIs, and a .900 OPS in 126 games.

Harper had a strong fall in postseason play, batting .285 (45-for-158) with 14 homers, 28 RBIs, and a 1.017 OPS in 42 games. But he hasn’t won a World Series. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft made the postseason four times (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017) with Washington, but was not part of the team that won the franchise’s first championship in 2019, when he was shipped to Philadelphia in a 13-year, $430 million deal. Last year, he was named the National League Championship Series MVP and led Philadelphia to the World Series, but they finished as runners-up to Houston.

But the Phillies have a great chance to win the World Series again this year. MLB.com wrote, “When Philadelphia, which barely made the postseason last year, beat defending champion Atlanta, it seemed like savages poured out of the stadium gates. Atlanta is stronger than it was last year, but Philadelphia didn’t seem to feel that way. The Phillies look like a team of future Hall of Famers and players who know how to make a mark on Philadelphia sports history,” he said, highlighting the Phillies’ frightening momentum.

After defeating Atlanta, the team with the best record in the majors, the Phillies now face Arizona (84-78) for the third National League wild card. MLB.com wrote, “The Phillies now have home-field advantage against a team that is unlikely to make it to the National League Championship Series any further than the Phillies in 2022. Good luck, Arizona. Citizens Bank Park feels like the Thunderdome right now,” and predicted that the Phillies would do well.