Bryce Harper punches his ticket to Cooperstown at age 16

WhiteShoeWillis · Jun 4, 2009

By 'Duk

I have no idea if there's a difference in pressure between having every baseball wonk following you around at age 16 and having every sports fan in the country learn your name, but I suppose Bryce Harper will soon be able to tell us.

Following in its grand tradition of predicting can't miss future superstars like Schea Cotton and Tamir Goodman, Sports Illustrated is using the cover of this week's magazine to tout the 16-year-old Las Vegas resident as "the most exciting prodigy since LeBron."

Writes SI's Tom Verducci:

"Still only 16, Harper stands 6'3", weighs 205 pounds, has faster bat speed than Mark McGwire in his prime and runs so fast that he scored on wild pitches six times this season from second base. As a catcher he picks off runners from his knees, and when he pitches, he throws a fastball that has been clocked at 96 mph.

"When James was 16, he was a high school sophomore with an NBA game and a body to match. Harper has been compared to Justin Upton(notes), Alex Rodriguez(notes) and Ken Griffey Jr.(notes), each a freakishly advanced high school player and each the top overall pick of his draft. But Harper, say the baseball men who are paid to make such assessments, has the ability as a sophomore that the aforementioned trio had as seniors."

Whether or not Harper will eventually save SI from the limb it just walked out on remains to be seen, but it should be said that Harper certainly believes he can.

"Be in the Hall of Fame, definitely," says Harper when asked by Verducci about his goals. "Play in Yankee Stadium. Play in the pinstripes. Be considered the greatest baseball player who ever lived. I can't wait."

Under normal circumstances, I'd say it's getting ahead of ourselves to point out that he doesn't mention winning the World Series as a goal or that he'll likely have to play the first several years of his career for a team not named the Yankees before his current "adviser" Scott Boras negotiates the first billion dollar contract in MLB history.

But since we're talking about a kid who's hitting 570-foot home runs and already has a frame that looks like it was constructed by a team of uber-intelligent robots, why not get a little crazy and predict that Harper will finish his career by passing Barry Bonds'(notes) home run mark, Pete Rose's hits mark AND Cy Young's wins total? Of course, that'll only be after he hits .400 in a season, hits safely in 57 straight games and throws eight no-hitters ... in the same year.

(Hey, everyone else is doing it ... why can't I?)

To get a glimpse of Harper in action, check out the video below. Impressive, to say the least.
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http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/bi...es-his-ticket-to-Cooperstown-a?urn=mlb,167844

nyjetsrule · Jun 4, 2009

WhiteShoeWillie said: ↑

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/bi...es-his-ticket-to-Cooperstown-a?urn=mlb,167844
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Kid has serious power thats for sure. Physical freaks only come around so often, but I would not be surprised if he was either one in a million, or on the roids.

that said I hope the kid is clean, and is going to be a superstar in the league for a long time

jonnyd · Jun 4, 2009

I couldnt watch too minutes of that sickening video with the cheesey special effects and that fuckin annoying music. I now hate Bryce Harper. Whoever the fuck he is

devilonthetownhallroof · Jun 4, 2009

I wouldn't be surprised to see him struggle big time with good offspeed/breaking stuff with that little leg twist he has. His swing has a lot going on. I'd also like to see him with a wood bat against real pitching instead of BP. I'm not saying he isn't good, but I think it's a little ridiculous to start with the HOF talk already.

GQMartin · Jun 4, 2009

devilonthetownhallroof said: ↑

I wouldn't be surprised to see him struggle big time with good offspeed/breaking stuff with that little leg twist he has. His swing has a lot going on. I'd also like to see him with a wood bat against real pitching instead of BP. I'm not saying he isn't good, but I think it's a little ridiculous to start with the HOF talk already.
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I was thinking that about the foot hitch. Coaches/Scouts must hate that. But Upton gets away with it...IDK, at an early age you don't want to show off bad habits.

FirstTimeCaller · Jun 6, 2009

Nice to see the US continuing to produce world class talent... why on earth is he catching?

rhodesfan16 · Jun 6, 2009

wow he has a strange ass batting stance, the way he flicks his ankle around

WhiteShoeWillis · Jun 15, 2009

When big Bryce Harper made the cover of Sports Illustrated two weeks ago, I knew we'd soon again be hearing from the 16-year-old 'chosen one.'

But not quite this soon.

On Sunday, the sophomore from Las Vegas found his way into national headlines again when his father told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Bryce will forgo his final two years of high school and use a GED to enroll in a community college this August. Though it more or less makes a mockery of our education system, the Harpers' plan would make Bryce eligible for the 2010 draft, where he could conceivably be the Nationals' No. 1 pick and eventually join forces with Stephen Strasburg to save Washington baseball from itself.

It's a controversial decision, to be sure, but Ron Harper says he and his son are prepared to hear from the inevitable haters:

"There are going to be critics. I can't worry about what people think," Ron Harper said. "People are going to see what they want to see and say what they want to say. I think this prepares him for life, playing the game of baseball.

"People question your parenting and what you're doing. Honestly, we don't think it's that big a deal. He's not leaving school to go work in a fast-food restaurant. Bryce is a good kid. He's smart, and he's going to get his education."

From my viewpoint, I'm not going to act like a truant officer on Harper's decision when viewed in a vacuum. It's quite clear that Harper has loads of talent, lives to play baseball and has been groomed to play professional baseball ever since he and his family realized that he was much better than everyone else. It's obvious he has that physical attributes to succeed and he'd be drafted in two years anyway, so why delay the inevitable? Is an 18-year-old really that much better equipped to handle the pressures of grand expectations than a 16-year-old? As much as people will want to say that Harper should stay in school like a normal kid, the truth is that whatever normal life he had disappeared the minute he showed up on the cover of a magazine at homes across the country.

Plus, in an age when tennis and golf prodigies leave their families for top-flight academies before the age of 10 and future basketball studs are identified in the sixth grade, what's the problem with Harper setting out on a very defined career path? Being the top pick in the draft could net him $20 million or more, so making a play while the chips are on his side is just simply a smart move ? especially in the volatile world of baseball talent.

The problem I do have with it, though, is that there are no doubt thousands of delusional parents who will see this news and think that maybe it's a viable path for their nowhere-near-as-talented sons and daughters. While the Harpers can't make their decision based on what other lemmings might do, I hope the door closes behind them.
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http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/bi...rt-Bryce-Harper-s-decision-to-?urn=mlb,170270

Bryce Harper punches his ticket to Cooperstown at age 16

WhiteShoeWillis Well-Known Member

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Bryce Harper punches his ticket to Cooperstown at age 16

WhiteShoeWillis Well-Known Member

nyjetsrule Active Member

jonnyd 2007 TGG.com Funniest Poster Award Winner

devilonthetownhallroof 2007 TGG Fantasy Baseball League Champion

GQMartin Go 'Cuse

FirstTimeCaller Active Member

rhodesfan16 New Member

WhiteShoeWillis Well-Known Member

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