Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper named National League starting first baseman in 2024 MLB All-Star Game
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper will start at first base for the National League in the 2024 MLB All-Star Game after he received the most votes through Phase 1 of voting. It's Harper's eighth All-Star game selection.
Harper got 3,277,920 votes during Phase 1 of fan voting. He's the first Phillies player to win the fan vote at first base since John Kruk in 1993.
Harper is off to a red-hot start to the 2024 season as the Phillies have been one of the best teams in baseball in the early part of the 162-game season. Before Thursday night's game against the Miami Marlins, the Phillies had a 53-27 record, which ranked first in the league.
Entering Monday night, Harper is slashing .305/.402/.585 with a .987 OPS. He's smacked 20 home runs and recorded 57 RBIs through 75 games. He extended his hitting streak to 12 games after he hit a lead-off double off Marlins starter Trevor Rogers on Thursday.
This week, Harper had the second-shortest odds to win NL MVP on FanDuel Sportsbook behind Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. If Harper were to win another MVP, it would be his second in a Phillies uniform and third overall.
Harper is also doing this while playing a new position at first base, which he started to play in the 2023 season after Rhys Hoskins missed the entire year with an injury. Harper has three total defensive runs saved above average, according to FanGraphs, which ranks in the top seven in the league among first basemen.
Plenty of other Phillies will be joining Harper in this year's All-Star game. Third baseman Alec Bohm led all NL third basemen with 3,175,134 votes in Phase 1. J.T. Realmuto, Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh and Kyle Schwarber also advanced to Phase 2 voting at their respective positions.
Phase 2 of voting will begin on Sunday and run through noon on Wednesday, July 3. Winners will be announced later that day at 7 p.m.
The 2024 MLB All-Star game will be on Tuesday, July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, the home of the Rangers.