Philadelphia Phillies Superstar Reaches Impressive Career Milestone

The Philadelphia Phillies superstar reached an important milestone on Sunday afternoon.

Jul 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) gestures as he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 4-1. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

It hasn't been an easy couple of weeks for the Philadelphia Phillies star slugger, but perhaps reaching an impressive milestone could act as a spur.

During Sunday afternoon's game against the Seattle Mariners, Bryce Harper reached 3,000 total bases for his career.

Bryce Harper adds to his storied career. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/SAoZSpilAl

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) August 4, 2024

As the Phillies shared on social media after the moment, he was the 42nd player in MLB history to reach the milestone before turning 32. As he continues to reach more career marks, a stat that could be interesting is that 30 of the 41 previous players to do so before that mark are in hte MLB hall of fame. Harper is also just the 12th left-handed batter to do it and is the first since the legendary Ken Griffey Jr.

He may not be a lock to make the Hall of Fame yet, but is certainly on the way to having a career worthy of it. Since making his debut back in 2012 with the Washington Nationals, he's earned quite a few accolades. He's an eight-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger winner, two-time Hank Aaron winner, a Rookie of the Year and most importantly a two-time MVP.

Before he sets his eyes on Cooperstown, though, he needs to focus on getting this season back on track.

The 31-year-old looked to wake up on Sunday, going three-for-four at the plate with a home run and two RBI. It was the first time in a while that he had such a performance.

After a slow start to the campaign, things peaked in late June when he had worked his way to a .306/.402/.992 slashing line. For the next month, however, things were as bad as they could be.

For the month of July, he slashed a measly .149/.2240/.358 line as Philadelphia went just 6-11 in the games that he played in.

Before Saturday's game, he was in the middle of a 1-for-34 slump where he struck out 13 times. The normally solid hitter looked completely lost at the plate for a stretch.

Sunday was an important day for the team as a hole, finally looking like the team they had for most of the year. The 6-0 route of the Mariners broke a six-game win streak and was just the second victory in their last ten outings.

Phillies fans can finally take sigh of relief for an afternoon and the team can use this as a reminder of who they are.