Bryce Harper crushes giant home run to third deck at Nats park

Prior to Thursday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper was probably pretty frustrated with his recent performance. The 23-year-old came into the contest hitting just .194 during the month of May, and had only clubbed two home runs.

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That frustration likely intensified after Harper struck out swinging during the first inning. Instead of taking out his anger on the water cooler, Harper decided to channel that rage into a future at-bat.

In the sixth inning, it came to pass. Harper put all of his hatred into one swing. The only victim was a poor, helpless baseball. On the third pitch of the at-bat, Harper obliterated an 80 mph curveball from Mike Leake. The ball was launched so far that it hit off the facing of the third deck in right field at Nationals Park.

While hitting the ball to the third deck is no easy task, Harper's blast won't threaten for the longest home run of the season. It traveled just 434 feet according to official measurements. Texas Rangers rookie Nomar Mazara's 491 foot moonshot is safe ... for now. 

We have no reason to doubt the official data, but that seems light. We would have bought at least 480 feet based on how hard that thing was hit.

It's not the first time Harper has driven a ball out to the upper deck, but it's still incredibly impressive every time he does it. That area is usually reserved for big, powerful veterans like Adam Dunn, not a 23-year-old kid.

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Given Harper's ability to go on a tear at the plate, this home run might be just what he needed to break out of his slump. While that would make most players happy, Harper might want to stay angry. He tends to hit the ball a long way when he's angry.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik