While the Phillies president, Dave Dombrowski, stirred a debate by calling Bryce Harper no longer “elite” last year, fans think Harper himself isn’t doing enough to clear up the allegations. Even after Team USA got over Canada to secure their semifinal berth, Harper’s 1 run from 5 at-bats is raising concerns. And till now in the WBC, he has only four hits in 15 at-bats and a mere .494 OPS, which makes the fans call out the Phillies veteran.

“Harper isn’t doing much to clear up these ‘not elite’ allegations,” one Team USA loyalist said via X.

Apart from the stats from tonight’s game that surely look haunting, Harper’s struggle was well evident in the game. Just when the Canadians recovered from 0-5 to 3-5, Team USA needed some pinch-hitting. For Mark DeRosa, Harper was the man to bet on. But in reality, he got struck out without making a hit in the ninth.

Fortunately, Canada couldn’t score anymore, and the game went in Team USA’s favor. However, fans are haunted by thinking about what the result would be if Canada scored in the ninth.

Harper’s last year’s stats are further compounding the concerns. A batting average of only .261 and just 27 HRs in 2025 was a significant letdown from 30 HRs and a .285 average in 2024. However, Harper had a reason, though, for this last year’s struggle. As per him, one big reason his last season wasn’t at his usual elite level was the lack of protection in the Phillies’ lineup.

There were a lot of pitches outside the strike zone, and he chased more of them than he normally would. So, it’s easy to see why, if Harper were not confident in the hitters behind him, he might feel more pressure to swing instead of letting those pitches go by. But that’s not really an issue for him in the WBC.

Team USA has one of the most armed-up batting lineups, and Bryce Harper is hitting right in front of Aaron Judge, with Kyle Schwarber right behind Judge. So, with that kind of power coming up after him, pitchers don’t have much room to mess around. Still, in reality, Harper is struggling big time, which in turn makes the fans wonder if the Phillies president was right in his assessment.

Fans are calling out Bryce Harper for not being elite

Fans are now wondering if Team USA should let Bryce Harper in the lineups in the semifinals. Instead, one fan suggested, “We need to send Bryce Harper and Cal Raleigh to Guantanamo Bay.” “Bryce Harper is absolute garbage! He needs to be benched!” Another added.

So, for the fans, Harper is no longer the value addition he once was. And with that, 4 hits only from 15 at-bats in the WBC till now, benching him shouldn’t impact Team USA. And apart from Harper, fans had had enough with Cal Raleigh, also. The 60 HR hitter from last year is having another Harper-like season in this WBC.

Raleigh was hitless till the quarterfinals and scored 1 run from 3 at-bats against Canada. So, sending both to Guantanamo Bay might be an over-the-top scene, but DeRosa could still think about benching them.

“Are you watching the WBC? Harper is not elite. He can’t hit good pitchers anymore.” Another user tagged WIP Radio’s Tommy Kelly. Last month, Kelly showed confidence in Harper, saying, “While I’m confident in Bryce Harper, it didn’t make me overall more confident in the team.”  So, just as Harper continued his struggle in the WBC, one fan took the opportunity to remind us why Kelly was wrong.

“Maybe Bryce Harper really is not elite after all?” One fan concluded.

A few fans are still optimistic, but in a sarcastic way. “Maybe one day Bryce Harper will step up before it’s too late, oh but wait, he’s waiting for the Olympics in 2028,” another user remarked.

Just before the WBC, Bryce Harper commented about how LA28 should be given the most preference over the WBC. “Obviously, the WBC is great, but it’s not the Olympics,” Harper said. For the fans, the slugger, who has been struggling since last year and just compounding in this WBC, is ironically targeting the Olympics.

Still, 15 at-bats are still a very small sample to evaluate someone like Bryce Harper. Yes, Harper is undoubtedly struggling, but a 162-game season could still go otherwise.