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I guess I'm a bit "old fashioned" in this regard... the professional athlete's life of luxory and "freedom" can be free wheeling and scary. I hope he's got good parents to tell him what's what, and how to identify people he can truly trust. I've got no beef with athlete's per se, just with the perannas and leaches that can lead these kids down the wrong path. He sounds grounded, though. I'm not too concerned overall, but it's his age that makes me concerned just a little.
5. The Nationals will make Bryce Harper the top overall pick of the 2010 draft. MLB's 2010 First-Year Player Draft goes down in June, and once again the Nationals own the top pick. They'll select Las Vegas catcher Bryce Harper. Harper, like Strasburg, is a once-in-a-generation talent, and there's a reasonable chance he'll surpass Strasburg's record signing bonus. Harper is enrolled in junior college and he's passed his GED. In other words, everything's in place for Harper to become a Washington National.
At the moment, not signing him goes against that idea they harp on about signing the best player.
I feel very guilty even looking at this kid at such a young, young age. Yet, if he can play, then let him. I just hope he doesn't lose out on a being a teenager - having fun with freinds, going to movies, daring you buddies to do something dumb, getting into a little trouble at school... Everyone deserves a life of normalcy - I just wonder if he'll ever have one.And this is plain baseball nerd talk.... his arm rates out at a true 80 (though his arm action can get a little long – I’ve caught pop times in the 1.7 to 1.8 range) -- more, he couples 80-strength with good accuracy. ...he also can get in the habit of rotating his body when he collapses his left side mid-pitch... good bat speed and excellent torque through his core. His swing got long and a little loopy towards the end of the summer I want all my catchers to have excellent body torque with 80 strength at 1.7-1.8 range. But watch that collapsed body mid-pitch!!
It is only stupid if he fails or it is not what he truly wishes to do. I value a college education but there is no reason you must start at 18-24.
Agree with you on the education part of college, but for the total experience, better to go in with your peers. I can't think of anything more fun than living on campus for 4 years when between the ages of 18-23. That's an experience that money can't buy.
Tiger seems to have found a way.
Well, being married while having that much fun has a down side to it.
I wouldn't know. I've never had fun being married
(Image removed from quote.)Baseball phenom Bryce Harper dodges media, focuses on his gameThis is how carefully the baseball coaches at the College of Southern Nevada are protecting their prodigy catcher and hitter, Bryce Harper: Not even CBS's "60 Minutes" is getting a crack at the kid.The national news program has been after Harper since June, when he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and was proclaimed as "Baseball's Chosen One." The article compared the slugger to basketball icon LeBron James, instantly turning the local teenager into a nationwide sensation.But when the attention went from controllable chaos — the brand of hype any high school athlete dreams of — to a distraction, his handlers decided to pull the plug on his availability.The 17-year-old Harper, who smashed a mammoth 570-foot home run for Las Vegas High as a freshman in 2008 and is credited with the longest home run at the Tampa Bay Rays' Tropicana Field, has been off-limits since the summer, when the frenzy was at its peak.He'll remain that way at CSN.No autographs, handshakes, interviews or conversations. Just baseball."It became relentless after the Sports Illustrated article," CSN coach Tim Chambers said. "He would have to stay after games for an hour and a half signing autographs."The Coyotes open their season today against Arizona Western at their Henderson campus, and Chambers expects a circus atmosphere with everyone trying to get a glimpse of Harper.Harper left high school after his sophomore year last summer for better competition in the junior college ranks, and more important, to be eligible for baseball's First-Year Player Entry Draft in 2010. Harper is expected by several to be the first pick of the Washington Nationals in June and has long been advised by mega-agent Scott Boras, who represents the likes of Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees.So, when most CSN games receive little or no attention, Chambers is preparing for the onslaught.He remembers a tournament Harper played in summer in Oklahoma City, about a month after the Sports Illustrated cover story, and how the stadium was packed. Television cameras lined the stadium fence and fans jammed the bleachers until they were turned away.Game days at CSN will require added security, media will go through a credential application process and Chambers will have the final say on who his players speak with before and after the game.He knows what to expect; he had to close off practice in the fall because of interruptions caused by autograph hounds. A Harper autograph on auction site eBay.com is listed at $299. His autograph on the Sports Illustrated cover has been sold for $800.Harper, who hit .626 with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs last spring for Las Vegas High in being named Baseball America's high school player of the year, is well worth the hassle.He gives a talent-rich Coyotes roster that extra weapon in their quest to return to the Junior College World Series for the first time since winning the title in 2003. CSN is a junior college power and always nationally ranked.Part of the reason why the Harper family allowed Bryce to leave high school after two years — a move that drew much national criticism — was because they trusted their son under Chambers' watch. Harper, who hit a combined 25 home runs with 93 RBIs in two seasons in high school, could have followed the traditional route and flourished his final two years at Las Vegas High.Click to enlarge photoJustin M. BowenCollege of Southern Nevada baseball coach Tim Chambers says Bryce Harper is doing well in the junior college environment, despite leaving high school after his sophomore year.But it was time to bring in Chambers.In addition to being a veteran baseball man, Chambers, also the school's athletic director, is savvy in dealing with the media and public."I try to protect all of my guys, let alone someone who should be a junior in high school," Chambers said.It was Chambers, who after watching Bryce go through an uncharacteristic slump following the magazine article, was behind restricting access to him.Harper went without a hit in more than 10 at-bats, including one contest where he struck out four times, and the stress of living up to the hype was obvious. Harper was still a teenager and the pressure of hitting a 500-foot home run each at-bat to appease the masses became overwhelming."Everyone wanted a piece of him and you could tell it was wearing on the kid," Chambers said.Now, some five months later, that is far from the case.Chambers said Harper is fitting in well in junior college — athletically and socially. He passed his GED in November and received an 'A' in both classes he took, computer science and anthropology courses, during the fall term. He is taking a full load of classes in the spring.Harper, who is described as humble and down-to-earth, also went to the homecoming and Sadie Hawkins high school dances (remember, he's the age of a high school junior)."He still hangs out with high school kids, and his girlfriend is still in high school," Chambers said.Harper has also returned to his old self on the diamond.Click to enlarge photoSam MorrisHarper, shown in a Las Vegas High School game last year, is expected to be the first pick of the Washington Nationals in June through baseball's First-Year Player Entry Draft.The Nationals' assistant general manager, national scouting cross-checker and a slew of other personnel headed West to evaluate Harper during a fall game against Modesto (Calif.) Junior College.Swinging a wooden bat, he knocked a three-run triple in his first at-bat, a three-run double in his second at-bat and closed the day with a 385-foot opposite-field home run. With that performance, the first pick and a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $15 million — what Boras negotiated for last year's top pick, Stephen Strasburg, also of the Nationals — became more of a reality.Harper's circle of trust at CSN also includes his brother, sophomore pitcher Bryan Harper. Bryan transferred to CSN this summer after playing one year at Cal State Northridge.While several believe Bryan's move to CSN was calculated by his brother's handlers, the older Harper disagrees. A former 31st-round draft pick of the Nationals in 2008, he said he needed a change to further his career.Playing alongside his brother, and high school teammate Marvin Campbell, is an added bonus. The brothers were first teammates during T-ball, when Bryce, then 3 years old, played with children mostly double his age."He's still my little brother and playing with him is going to be amazing as always," Bryan Harper said. "Anytime you get to play with your brother, it is something special."Bryan remembers Bryce's famous 570-foot home run at Las Vegas, a blast that was described by Sports Illustrated as traveling "over the right field fence, two trees, another fence, a sidewalk, five lanes of traffic on elevated South Hollywood Boulevard and yet another sidewalk, until it finally landed in the brown, undeveloped desert."It was a home run that changed Bryce Harper's life."When he hit that bomb onto Hollywood, I just thought, 'Are you kidding me?' " Bryan Harper said.
Harper, who hit .626 with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs
1-3, BB, 2 RBI. He had a throwing error at 3B.
Um...he's not a catcher?
now the interesting question.what if it turns out that he sticks at 3B?
If he is the baseball messiah, Zimmerman has to move, right? If that happens, I can't wait to see SF meltdown on this board.
lol. Unless Zimmerman does the reverse Ripken, no. Zman isn't moving off 3B, barring some sort of catastrophic injury, for the next decade.
