WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper says he knows “exactly why” his production dipped last season from his MVP-winning performance a year earlier – but he did not elaborate.
Harper met with reporters Saturday, the day before Washington’s first official full-squad workout of spring training.
After saying he did know what happened to make him go from the youngest unanimous MVP in baseball history in 2015, to a .243 hitter in 2016, Harper evaded questions that tried to pin him down on the reasons.
He spoke about “staying in the lineup” last season as if it were a chore, but did not say that he was injured.
Asked what he thought of the Nationals’ offseason transactions, Harper said the team’s switch to a new training complex in Florida was the “biggest move I’m excited about.”