Bryce Harper is named co-NL Player of the Week

By Mark Zuckerman

Nationals

April 18, 2016, 1:38pm

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MIAMI - Bryce Harper's weekend power surge in Philadelphia earned him his first official honor of 2016 - though he'll have to share with a fellow All-Star.

Harper was named co-National League Player of the Week this afternoon along with Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, the league office unable to deem one slugger's performance over the last seven days more dominant than the other.

Harper and Arenado each hit four homers and drove in 12 runs last week, Harper's homers coming once apiece over the last four days. Harper hit .346 (9-for-26) to Arenado's .333 (9-for-27). Arenado bested Harper in total bases 23-22.

This is the fourth time Harper has been recognized as NL Player of the Week in the last 365 days. He was a three-time winner in 2015: May 4-10, May 11-17 and Sept. 14-20 en route his unanimous selection as league MVP.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Harper's 11-game season to date has been his ability to combine power (six homers) and patience (eight walks) without swinging and missing much (four strikeouts). It's a combination Nationals manager Dusty Baker has seen during his five decades in baseball, though only in rare cases.

"There were guys in the past that struck out a lot: Look at Willie Stargell and Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle and those guys," Baker said. "But then you've got Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and these others, Ted Williams, who didn't strike out. Bryce falls into the category of not striking out. ... For a young hitter, he's about the best I've seen."