It's a bit of shooting fish in a barrel, admittedly, but local team broadcasts are always fun to pick on for their gross inanity. You can chalk up their vapidness to homerism, but these are major market broadcasts of billion-dollar enterprises.
In fact, the Atlanta Braves radio network claims to be the largest in all of professional sports. Certainly the fact that a fan in Charleston, SC can listen to the broadcasts 300 miles away is testament to their reach.
On the pre-game show before a tilt against the Nationals, one of the hosts offered that Washington may claim golden boy Bryce Harper, but Atlanta counters, at least this year, with Kelly Johnson, and he would take that match-up any day.
As well he should. In the sense that any day is as good as another in their comparison. Let's make it, just to see the depravity of his subjectivity.
Kelly Johnson is what you might charitably call a slugging second baseman who has donned the uniform of seven different teams over an 11-year career. He has tallied 16 or more home runs in a season five times, despite rarely earning everyday status. He's an average-fielding keystoner.
For his career, Johnson has hit .250/.332/.425 with 19 HR and 67 RBI per 162 games. He's produced a .269 True Average (TAv) and 17.4 wins against replacement.
Bryce Harper is what you might call an emerging star who is still a year younger than Johnson was when he debuted. Harper has hit .274/.358/.478 with 27 HR and 73 RBI per 162 games. He's produced a .300 TAv and 11.7 wins against replacement in a four-year career. He's a highlight film in the outfield.
This season, Johnson is hitting .236, but with six dingers in just 77 plate appearances. Harper is hitting .292 and leading the league in walks. He's gone yard 11 times in 133 plate appearances.
So, to summarize, Harper is hitting for much better average than Johnson this year. He's on base at a rate 100 points higher. He's slugging a little better. He's a better fielder. Right now, Harper is a better player in every way.
For their careers, Harper hits for better average, on base and slugging, a much higher TAv, more home runs and RBIs and has accounted for six fewer wins than Johnson in seven fewer years. At the rate he's going right now, Harper will make up the difference this season.
In short, Bryce Harper is a Hall of Fame contender; Kelly Johnson was an asset for about a four-year stretch of his career.
So yeah, any day is as good as any other to compare the two players. And if Braves' management is as utterly brainless (they're not) as an announcer blind with boosterism, they can expect their team to take permanent residence at the bottom of the standings.
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