"[1][2] He left Las Vegas High School after his sophomore year so that he could attend the College of Southern Nevada, where he won the 2010 Golden Spikes Award.

[5] He earned his GED in October 2009 in his junior year, reclassifying and making him eligible earlier for the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft in June 2010.

[12] On June 2 that year, Harper was ejected from a National Junior College World Series game by home plate umpire Don Gilmore for disputing a called third strike.

[16][17] Although Harper had previously and predominantly played catcher, the Nationals drafted him as an outfielder to extend his career and to accelerate his player development so that he could debut in MLB earlier.

Asked what changed in that final minute, Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo replied, "It was both sides compromising and knowing that we were so close, it would be fruitless not to get a deal done.

[24] In April 2011, after a slow start in the minor leagues, Harper visited optometrist Dr. Keith Smithson, who reportedly told him, "I don't know how you ever hit before.

He recorded his first major league hit, a double, in his third at-bat against Billingsley and got his first RBI on a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth against Javy Guerra.

[33] On May 14, Harper was 19 when he hit his first career Major League home run, connecting off of San Diego Padres pitcher Tim Stauffer.

During a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 12, Harper hit a deep home run to center field that struck an advertising banner adjacent to the restaurant in the second tier of seats at the Rogers Centre,[38] estimated to travel 438 feet.

The comment quickly developed into an Internet meme,[40] with the phrase itself repeated, in response to a question, by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

[47] Manager Davey Johnson began to give Harper days off due to his poor play and visible on-field frustration.

Harper hit his 17th homer of the season on August 6, the 39th of his career, passing Ken Griffey Jr. for most home runs by a player younger than 21.

During a game against the San Diego Padres on April 25, 2014, Harper suffered a left thumb injury when he slid into third base on a 3-run triple.

[58] On April 18, 2015, Harper hit the longest home run of his MLB career with a 461-foot drive over the center field wall against the Philadelphia Phillies.

[76] The following day, Harper was ejected from the dugout for yelling at home plate umpire Brian Knight when teammate Danny Espinosa was called out on strikes.

Harper returned to the field to celebrate the 5–4 walk-off win over the Detroit Tigers with his teammates and was caught shouting profanity towards Knight.

[90][89] On July 27, Harper hit one of four consecutive home runs by Nationals hitters off Milwaukee Brewers starter Michael Blazek; this was the first time that the feat had been accomplished in Major League Baseball since the 2011 season.

[93] It was later revealed that his left knee had a significant bone bruise, but no ligament damage, sending him to the disabled list but prompting team officials to say they were confident he could return before the end of the season.

[97] He was batting .219 with 21 home runs and 50 RBIs when he was named a starting outfielder for the 2018 MLB All-Star Game, where he also won the homerun derby.

[107] Harper's first hit as a member of the Phillies was a 465-foot home run to the second deck of the right field bleachers at Citizens Bank Park on March 30, 2019, off Jesse Biddle of the Atlanta Braves.

[110] However, the Phillies missed the playoffs, being eliminated officially on September 24 by losing to the eventual World Series champions and Harper's former team, the Washington Nationals.

In August, Harper was designated to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in Allentown, the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, as a final step in his rehabilitation stint from his thumb fracture in June.

He batted 8 for 16 in the NLDS against the defending champion Atlanta Braves, helping the Phillies win the series 3–1 and advance to the NLCS for the first time since 2010.

On October 23, 2022, during game 5 of the National League Championship Series, Harper hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning off of Padres right-handed reliever Robert Suárez.

[122] On November 23, 2022, Harper underwent Tommy John surgery for his ligament tear and was expected to be able to return as the Phillies' everyday designated hitter at around the All-Star break.

On July 13, 2024, Harper reached the milestone of homering against every team in Major League Baseball, hitting a solo home run on a pitch by Austin Adams of the Oakland Athletics.

Harper later expressed his hope that MLB players would be allowed to participate in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles after it was announced in 2023 that baseball would return as a competition sport.

[136] Though serving a mission is strongly encouraged for male members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are between the ages of 18 and 26, it is not required.

He dropped the puck before a game in their inaugural season and put the Golden Knights' logo on his bat during their run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2018.

[151] In 2016, Harper signed a 10-year extension with apparel company Under Armour, at the time the largest endorsement deal in history for a baseball player.