PHILADELPHIA – Bryce Harper has been waiting for the “MVP!” chants fade as he walked over to the microphone in the Philadelphia Phillies home final to thank fans for standing by their side in the pennant race.

The National League MVP contender who loses every game in front of fans in right field – he might even play wrestling with a lucky few – told the city the Phillies may have more games to play in Philadelphia .

“We have six other bigger ones,” he said. “I hope we’ll be back here on October 11 with you guys waving your flags and towels, and bringing back October baseball. We have a big week ahead of us.”

Not since the heyday of Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, the Phillies have played some big September games with playoff stakes, and six this week will determine whether they advance to the playoffs for the first time since. 2011.

Harper, 28, is doing everything for the Phillies in their quest for the NL East crown. He has put them in the running since the All-Star hiatus and faced them with a decisive series in Atlanta.

The Braves control the NL East when they open a three-game series with the Phillies today. Atlanta leads the division by 2-1 / 2 games – its magic number to take down is five – and the Phillies will likely have to sweep the series to stand a chance in the division. Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler starts against Atlanta’s Charlie Morton.

“We have to go, we have to do our job, we have to be ready on the first pitch,” Harper said. “Every time you play against someone, you want to sweep them away.”

Pennant pressure cookers are a big reason the Phillies gave Harper $ 330 million over 13 years to sign in 2019.

His contract is big.

His numbers, even bigger.

Harper beats .313 with 34 homers and 82 RBIs, leads the league with 1.055 OPS and has a career-high 40 doubles. He has reached base in 22 straight games, the longest active streak in the National League. Harper has walked 20 times in his last 16 games and has even had 10 assists in the field. His value to the Phillies makes him the betting favorite at -200 to win the NL MVP, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and online to win a second trophy to pair with his 2015 MVP with Washington.

Phillies fans chant “MVP!” for the player known as MV3 (nodding to his uniform number) for a reason. Harper pulled off a bad back that slowed him down in the first half – he wasn’t on the All-Star squad – and his durability was a bonus for manager Joe Girardi.

Don’t expect Harper to glance at his oversized stats on the dashboard.

“I haven’t looked at my numbers,” he said. “I don’t like Joe showing me my numbers. I don’t let my friends show me my numbers. I don’t let [his wife] Kayla or whatever … I don’t watch it on Instagram. Whenever my eyes get even closer to looking at something, it’s as fast as possible. “

Ask around for the National League, however, and Harper is going to have to fight for the MVP.

Take, for example, San Diego slugger Fernando Tatis Jr., who leads the NL with 41 homers.

“I am fortunate to see Fernando Tatis Jr. play 18 times a year and he brings an incredible amount of energy to the field,” said Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo. “It’s those kinds of things he can do that, for me, points him to him as the potential MVP winner this year. But there are a lot of good candidates.”

There are a few, like Washington outfielder Juan Soto. Soto, 22, was the star of the winning team at the 2019 World Championships and leads the league in goals and percentage based.

“Juan should consider being that MVP,” said national championships director Dave Martinez. “What he has done and what he represents for this team, as you know he carries this team day in and day out.”

Soto took the Nationals to a 64-92 record on Monday, a far cry from 2015 when they went 83-79 and finished second in Eastern NL and Harper was MVP.

Harper is at batting .347 with 26 doubles, 19 homers and 48 RBIs since the All-Star break.

Harper would have Mike Schmidt’s vote: The three-time National League MVP and Hall of Fame third baseman wrote last week: “The National League MVP is Bryce Harper, who on August 1 put his team on the back, became the best player in the league, and stole it.

Harper is perhaps known in Philadelphia these days as the slugger who both threw 400-foot home runs on second decks and exponentially spawned more Etsy products.

The days when fans simply wore an authentic Philadelphia Phillies No.3 jersey or other team items have given way to a DIY revolution of Harper products that results in Big Bryce Bucks.

Kids raised on Wawa hoagies play baseball wearing the same round-eyed Phillie Phanatic headband that Harper wore, while moms and dads scramble for a “Clearwooder” shirt more suited to Mare Sheehan than a favorite of the NL MVP. Pop culture aficionados won’t miss the Gritty and Phanatic t-shirt designed as a tribute to “Pulp Fiction”. Harper certainly sparked a shopping spree when he wore the jersey to the ballpark on his first opening day with the Phillies in 2019.

“He plays in front of a crowd, he wears wild colors, his people know how to accessorize him and create themed memories for any occasion. For every Schmidt jersey there are 10 Harpers,” Schmidt wrote.

What Harper wears, Philly fans buy.

Imagine what the die-hards would look like in 2021 playoff gear.