Bryce Harper: Rookie of the Year

A look back at the most memorable moments from Bryce Harper’s 2012 season, which earned the Nats outfielder the National League Rookie of the Year award.

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April 28: Major league debut

Harper wasn't supposed to be in the majors quite this soon, but he was called up from Class AAA Syracuse because the Nationals' injured, punchless lineup needed help. In his third at-bat, Harper smashed a double off the center field wall, flipping off his helmet as he sprinted to second. He also hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth and made a bullet of a throw from left field in the seventh in a 4-3 10-inning loss. His debut performance displayed Harper's fervent playing style and his full array of skills.

Alex Gallardo / Reuters

May 6: Stealing home against the Phillies

In Harper's eighth game, Phillies starter Cole Hamels welcomed him to the majors by plunking him on the backside with a pitch in his first at-bat. Harper reached third on a single by Jayson Werth, who before the game had discussed Hamel’s move to first with Harper. With Chad Tracy batting, Hamels tried to pick off Werth at first, and Harper bolted home, beating the throw with a feet-first slide. The crowd at Nationals Park roared, an electrifying moment that might define Harper and his style more than any other play.

Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post

May 11: Cut above his eye

After making an out in the seventh inning of a 7-3 win against the Reds, Harper was so furious that he whacked a wall in the tunnel attached to the Nationals' dugout with his bat. The bat broke and cut him above his left eye, drawing blood. Harper asked Rick Ankiel if his cut looked okay and Ankiel jokingly lied to him, and Harper could be seen in the outfield with blood dripping down his left cheek. He needed 10 stitches to patch it up.

John McDonnell / The Washington Post

May 14: First career home run

Harper had hit only one home run in Class AAA Syracuse and none in his first 14 games in the majors. But in his 62nd major league plate appearance, Harper crushed a solo home run off San Diego Padres right-hander Tim Stauffer, about 15 feet beyond the center field fence onto the grassy hill at Nationals Park. Harper darted around the bases in a break-neck 18 seconds and sprinted into the dugout, where teammates high-fived him and patted him on the head and backside. He obliged the crowd with a curtain call.

John McDonnell / The Washington Post

June 5: First walk-off hit

In a 7-6, 12-inning victory over the Mets, Harper notched the first walk-off hit of his career, a line-drive single to left that scored Wilson Ramos. Harper pumped his arms after reaching first and was doused with Gatorade by Michael Morse after returning to the dugout.

Alex Brandon / Associated Press

June 12: "That's a clown question, bro."

After smashing his seventh home run of the season in Toronto, a 438-foot shot at Rogers Centre, a local reporter asked Harper, shown here in September, if he would be enjoying a celebratory Canadian beer. A Nationals spokesman tried to shut down the question, but Harper, a Mormon whose religion forbids alcohol, quipped the now often-cited, pop culture phrase: “That’s a clown question, bro."

Richard Lipski / Associated Press

July 7: Selection to All-Star team

The rookie finished third in the fan vote that determines the final spot on the roster, behind the Cardinals' David Freese and the Braves' Michael Bourn. Harper had stumped for Chipper Jones to make the team and was looking forward to spending the all-star break with his family, and Nats Manager Davey Johnson said he wanted the rookie to rest his body. But when the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton pulled out because of injury, Manager Tony LaRussa made Harper the youngest position player to make an All-Star roster in the game's 79-year history.

Charlie Riedel / Associated Press

August 29: First ejection

On the same night the rookie notched his first career multi-home run game, he also earned his first ejection. First base umpire C.B. Bucknor tossed Harper after Harper spiked his helmet when he failed to beat out a ninth-inning double play in an 8-4 win over Miami.

Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press

September 21: Ryan Braun gunned down at the plate

The Nats held a one-run lead in the fourth inning of a game against the Brewers when Bryce Harper charged a single to center and threw out the reigning NL MVP Braun, who was trying to score from second base. The next play was a nearly-identical single to center, but this time Brewers third base coach Ed Sedar held Aramis Ramirez at third base. Adam LaRoche cut off Harper's bullet of a throw but the crowd still roared.

Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post

October 7-12: First playoffs

The rookie finished the season on a torrid pace, hitting .333 and 10 home runs over his final 38 games. But through the first four games of the National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Harper was mired in a 1-for-18 slump. He played well over the final weeks of the season, but in the pressure of the playoffs and battling strep throat, he struggled. In Game 5, he broke out in ferocious fashion, going 2-for-5 with a towering home run and RBI triple.

Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

A protestor in a Guy Fawkes mask walks past razor wire outside a security perimeter of the G-8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland on Monday, June 17, 2013. The summit is taking place under heavy security, with some 7,000 police lining roads and checking vehicles. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

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Two-year old male rat named Dyatlik wears a costume during a rodent exhibition in Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, June 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

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WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Johnathon Carrington, valedictorian at Dunbar High School, laughs with family and friends after his school's graduation ceremony at Howard University on Friday, June 14, 2013, in Washington, DC. Carrington, who grew up in Tyler House public-housing apartments and is graduating from one of DC's low-performing high schoolsy, where academic expectations are high. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

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U.S. actress Sandra Bullock poses for the media during a photocall to promote her latest move 'The Heat' in Berlin June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)

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LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 16: Reenactors dressed as knights stage a medieval jousting competition at Eltham Palace on June 16, 2013 in Eltham, England. The 'Grand Medieval Joust' event at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property which was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to give a great insight into life at the palace during the medieval period. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

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In this June 8, 2013 photo, youth compete in the Sao Carlos slum local soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pitch is just dirt and the incandescent lights aren't so bright. But when the boys' feet strike the football in the Sao Carlos slum as night falls every Saturday, big league dreams glow, inflated by the hope of escaping the shantytown with sporting skills. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

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WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: John F. Tatum Sr. hugs his grandson John F. Tatum III during his annual Father's Day block party on Sunday, June 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

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LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 16: Miss Connecticut USA Erin Brady reacts after being crowned Miss USA during the 2013 Miss USA pageant at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on June 16, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Miss USA 2013

Miss Connecticut USA Erin Brady is crowned Miss USA 2013 in Las Vegas.

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