Bryce Harper Wins 2021 NL Hank Aaron Award

Bryce Harper brings the 2021 National League Hank Aaron Award back to Philadelphia.

Declan Harris | Nov 9, 2021

Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

The awards just keep piling up for Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper, as he is now the recipient of the 2021 National League Hank Aaron Award.

For the second time in his career, Bryce Harper has been selected as the National League recipient of the Hank Aaron Award. pic.twitter.com/Vi9IfDUs3R
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) November 9, 2021

Harper earned the award based on his astonishing season at the plate that saw him start strong in the first-half, hitting .282/.520/.378. But the right fielder really found his stride in the second-half, batting .338/.713/.476 whilst hitting 20 home runs and bringing in 50. This effort helped keep the Phillies in the playoff picture up until the very end of the season.

Harper's historic offensive numbers were reflected in the standings, leading the entire MLB in multiple categories, including doubles, slugging percentage, OPS, and OPS+.

In receiving the award, Harper beat out other big-name players in the NL such as reining Hank Aaron Award winner in Atlanta Braves' Freddie Freeman, Washington Nationals' Juan Soto, and Cincinnati Reds' Nick Castellanos.

This is the second time Harper has won the Hank Aaron Award, previously taking it home in 2015. Harper is just the 12th player in major league history to win it multiple times.

The award season may not be over for Harper yet, as he still is in contention for the NL MVP and Silver Slugger award. A keynote about that 2015 season: not only did Harper take home the Hank Aaron Award that year, but he was also named MVP. Maybe he'll repeat that feat this season.