Has the Phillies’ Bryce Harper’s 13-year, $330 million deal been worth it?

This season, Harper was the top NL first-phase All-Star Game vote-getter with 3,277,920 - and his first-half stats have been among the best in baseball.

Through last Friday, Harper was hitting .303 (10th overall in MLB), 20 home runs (seventh), and 58 RBIs (tied for eighth) among the primary stats. Currently, he is dealing with a hamstring injury.

Yet, looking at the big picture, there are still doubters whether the extravagant contract has been justified. Last season, the Phils had all the indicators pointing toward the franchise’s third World Championship and ending the current 15-year drought.

But somebody forget to tell the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Championship Series. As for Harper, he hit .217 with two homers, three RBIs, and five hits in the series.

Hmm…Is Harper the team’s savior to lead them back to the Promised Land? Do substantial numbers overshadow a lack of a championship?

In this week’s version of my Behind the Plate column - investigating past and present trends with the Phillies, Mets, and Yankees as well as MLB in general – I’ll look at Harper’s years in Philly, as well as some other envisioned messiahs along the way.

Harper Valley PTA ... When the Phillies signed Harper before the 2019 season, I was more than a little skeptical about such a huge contract for a player who had the tag of not carrying a team.

The Washington Nationals, his former team, were in the postseason in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 and were knocked out each time in the opening round. During that time, Harper’s reputation as the game’s next superstar began to soar as he hit a total of 150 homers during that span.

He was the league’s MVP in 2015 (youngest player at 22) with his 42-homer, 99-RBI, 38 doubles, 1.109 OPS, and .330 batting average numbers. The rock group Wale’s song “MVP” in 2015 was about him.

Harper was revered in Washington for his talents, but hit an overall .211 over the four postseason series’. Nationals’ ownership offered him a 10-year, $300 million pact, but Harper believed he could get more and apparently wanted a change of scenery.

Ironically, the Nationals won the World Series the year after Harper left, and there was plenty of talk about whether his departure opened that door.

Postseason Pump ... In his first season in Philly, Harper struggled early, but regained his form after the All-Star break and finished with 35 homers, 114 RBIs, and a .260 average.

Three years later, Harper made it to his first World Series with the Phils and had a regular-season line of 18 homers, 65 RBIs, and a .265 average in just 99 games due to a left thumb injury and a torn ACL in his elbow for which he would have surgery after the season.

Harper, though, didn’t disappoint in the postseason. In 17 games, he hit .349 with six homers, 13 RBIs and seven doubles, enough to gain him the NLCS MVP. Unfortunately, the Phils lost to the Astros in the World Series in six games.

Overall, Harper is hitting .276 with 16 home runs, 31 RBIs, 38 runs and 50 hits in 49 postseason games. Harper is fifth all-time in the postseason with a .635 slugging percentage behind Lenny Dykstra, Randy Arozarena, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth.

With his overall numbers, Harper is considered by many baseball pundits among the game’s greatest postseason players behind the likes of Ruth and Gehrig. To further emphasize the point, Harper’s slugging mark is the highest all-time among players with 150 or more at bats.

Future Forecast ... Earlier this season, Harper hinted that he would like an extension of his current contract that will expire in 2031 when he will be 38. At numerous times, Harper has floated the notion of ‘playing into his 40s.” (that also could be agent Scott Boras talking as Harper’s deal doesn’t have an opt-out).

Currently, he has 326 homers over his 13-year career, averaging 25 per season. If he stays healthy and keeps his production steady, Harper should be in the range of 500. Mike Schmidt retired at age 39 with 548 homers.

Stats aside, Harper will still need to help the club to another championship or two over the next seven years (or so) to solidify his status as a Phillies’ legend.

Purple Hay-es ... It was December 1982, and the Phillies were looking for their next superstar to begin another era as there were few pieces left from the 1980 World Championship team.

They shipped aging second baseman Manny Trillo, reserve outfielder George Vukovich, budding outfielder Julio Franco, along with youngsters Jerry Williard and Jay Baller to Cleveland for five-tool player Von Hayes.

After producing 14 homers, 82 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases for the Indians in ‘82, Hayes had trouble dealing with the pressures and slumped to six homers and 32 RBIs before a late-season, right field benching in favor of Joe Lefebvre and Sixto Lezcano.

Hayes bounced back in ‘84 with 16 homers, 67 RBIs, and 48 steals, but never truly achieved the lofty status the Phils had envisioned. In his defense, Hayes only played on two winning teams (the ‘83 World Series team and the 81-81 team in ‘84) from ‘83 until ‘91.

Overall, Hayes did have better overall numbers than Franco in his Phillies’ career, but the “five-for-one” player didn’t live up to expectations.

Pence-sive Plan ... It was the 2011 season and the Phillies’ expectations were high again after getting to the NLCS the previous season.

But there was a void in right field with Jayson Werth signing with the Nationals, and the trio of Ben Francisco, Dominic Brown, and John Mayberry Jr. not working.

So, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. traded a handful of prospects in July to Houston for outfielder Hunter Pence - who was viewed as another messiah.

Pence finished with a pedestrian 11 homers and 35 RBIs, but had a .324 average. He hit .211 with four RBIs in the NLDS loss to St. Louis.

The following season, the team was struggling, and Amaro decided to sell at the trading deadline. Instead of paying Pence a projected $13 million next season, Amaro traded him to the Giants for catcher Tommy Joseph and two other players.

Pence had 17 homers, 59 RBIs, and a .271 average for the Phillies, and had appeared to have found a new home.

Unfortunately, he didn’t.

Phillies’ Phalters ... In addition to Hayes and Pence, here are some other former Phillies who didn’t live up to their billing:

• Lance Parrish - The All-Star catcher was signed to a one-year, $800,000 contract, but Parrish flopped with a .230 average with 32 homers in two seasons during the late ‘80s.

• Kevin Milwood - Before the start of the 2003 season, the Phillies were looking for a front-line starter and traded catcher Johnny Estrada to Atlanta for starter Milwood. He produced an overall 23-18 record with a 4.34 ERA in two seasons.

• David Bell - Looking to replace Scott Rolen, Bell signed a four-year, $17 million deal before 2003. He failed to make the grade with 38 homers and a .258 average during this stay. He currently could be in trouble as the Reds’ manager.

• Jake Arietta - The team had visions of another front-line starter, signing Arietta to a three-year, $75 million pact before 2018. He floundered with an overall 22-23 record and a 4.36 ERA.

• Danny Tartabull - The Phillies signed Tartabull to a one-year, $2.3 million contract in 1997, hoping he could match his 27-homer, 101-RBI and .827 OPS campaign he generated with the White Sox in ‘96. He broke his toe and played just three games, and was shortly gone from the game.

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