He’s come a long way from the tantrum-throwing, crude gesturing minor-leaguer. Instead, in his first season in the majors, Bryce Harper embraced the team and the city who anticipated his debut and went on to have one of the best seasons by anyone under the age of 20.

Yesterday, the Harper was named National League Rookie of the Year, just beating out Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Wade Miley, winning the first major postseason award in the Nationals’ eight-year history. And while the award is nice, Harper said on a conference call with reporters that he’s more concerned with a bigger post-season spoil.

“This is a great award and I’m so excited and proud of it, but my biggest thing is I want to win a World Series,” Harper said, according to MASN. “I want to put that ring on my finger, and I want to give that to the city of D.C. They deserve that. I think our organization deserves that.”

After joining the Nationals in April, Harper went on to hit for a .270 batting average with 98 runs scored, 22 home runs, 59 runs batted in, and 18 stolen bases. Though he slumped at times, he started and ended his season with a tear, helping push the Nationals to their first postseason appearance.

And, oh, yeah, then there was the night of June 12, when Harper mashed a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays. When a Canadian reporter asked Harper, then 19, if he would like to celebrate the Nationals’ win that night with a beer, the outfielder’s response became one of the great moments in the team’s 2012 season: “That’s a clown question, bro,” Harper said.

If they gave Rookie of the Year awards for memes, Harper might have won that, too.

Harper gave an interview to MLB Network right after winning the award last night: