Bryce Harper

Solomon Kane

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Yes, I read about this guy. He's on the cover of SI. Hope he doesn't turn out to be another Clint Hurdle; but he certainly appears to be the real deal. It's to be hoped that he will be the dominating white superstar that will make fans forget all about bonds, a-rod, and pujols.
 

Skipperron

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The only thing that scares me is when players are hyped this much before they have really done anything in pro ball they are being sat up to fall. And to be rediculed. And believe me the media loves to redicule white players.

Look at McLouth for the Braves and late of the Pirates. When he was a Pirate and winning gold gloves and hitting great he was loved. Now he has been traded and they are writing article after article about how he really is not that good and will fall on a better team.

So I expect a wave of stories about this kid, then silence and then a ton of stories tearing him down and about what a loser he is.

Only blacks get total love, no matter what they do.
 

Don Wassall

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SI labelsHarper "the most exciting prodigy since Lebron." It's amazing that SI would feature a white athlete like this, but let's see if the media attention continues like that given to James. Skipperon has it exactly right. James not only had continual media hype but had been showered with some $80 million in corporate endorsements before he played a single minute in the NBA. No white "prodigy" will ever get anything like that kind of sustained media build-up and non-stop attention and money.
 

whiteathlete33

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What shocked me is how writers describe him as very athletic. How many times has a white player been labeled as athletic? He was compared to Ken Griffey Jr and Justin Upton. No surprise there however.
 

guest301

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When I picked up my SI magazine in the mail I was very suprised at who was on the cover. I had never heard of Bryce Harper before. Amazing that a 16 year old kid has been known to hit a baseball 570 feet. He appears to be the next big thing and he seems to have a good head on his shoulders, raised in the Christian faith and strong supportive parents. Maybe he will be the next Josh Hamilton(my favorite baseball player) without the past drug problems. One of the amazing things in this kid's story is how this man-child would have his dad toss him sunflower seeds at the slugging cage in order to improve his hand-eye coordination. That would certainly make a baseball look like a softball to Bryce if he practices batting sunflower seeds!Edited by: guest301
 

GWTJ

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I don't believe for one second that Harper hit the ball 570 feet. SI gets the facts wrong all the time.

According to the article, Harper's H.S. coach had measured it after it cleared fences and roads. No doubt it bounced on the pavement to finally roll to a stop where it did. Mantle in his prime hit the farthest ball ever recorded at 565 feet.

Plenty of man childs come through the baseball system. Kids who crush the ball at high school age. Adam Dunn was such a player. Some are able to continue to produce all the way to the major Leagues and others don't.

SI seems to have gone out of its way to put pressure on this kid. The LeBron comparison isn't fair because it is much easier to predict a basketball players success than it is a baseball players success.

Only time will tell if this kid can excel at the Major League level.
 

Pierce

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<a href="http://" target="_blank">

</A>He had a 502 foot bomb in this video. If he can drive 40 mile per hour batting practice pitches that far, I'm sure he could do 570 ft if he catches an 85 to 90 MPH fastball on the meat of the bat. Also, it was with an aluminum bat. I doubt anyone could even find a batting practice pitcher who would serve up home run derby meatballs to Mickey Mantle/Albert Pujols-types with aluminum bats. They'd crush it 700+ feet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liS3kGvQ9BkEdited by: Pierce
 

Solomon Kane

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He has confidence --which is good, but let's hope he keeps the proper historical perspective, humility, repect, etc. He should study the phenoms who didn't make it, or certain over-hyped contemporaries (like michelle wie) who let their egos hinder their development--and do the opposite.
 

Solomon Kane

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Interesting,-- the picture was small--but it looks like all five finalists for the Power Showcase were white.
 

whiteathlete33

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Harper is supposedly going to get his GED and skip his last 2 years of high school and enroll in community college. He will then be eligible for the 2010 draft and probably be the # 1 pick by the nationals. I don't like this idea as it is way to early for him.
 

Quiet Speed

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Espn will never let you down. Harper was one of the featured stories on the program E 60 that aired Tuesday. A very compelling and enjoyable story was being presented. At the end of the piece, one of the reporters asked Rachel Nichols who presented the story - what about steroids. I am not kidding. Nichols responded (halfheartedly IMHO) by saying Bryce says he would not do that or something to that effect. There was more to her response than that. I would have to watch it again to get the entire comment. They had to plant the seed, didn't they? I assume they'll be inquiring about performance enhancing drugs in the cases of LeBron James, the Williams sisters and Tiger Woods real soon.
 

Skipperron

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The Pirates front office held their weekly "fool the fans" question and anwser session the other day. They were asked about whether they would pick Harper if he were still there when they pick second. They responded that Bryce Harper was not even in their top ten. Now I don't know if Harper is as good as many make him out to be. But I do know if he were the same player but black, NO ONE, NO ONE would drop him out of the top ten. Lord, Pirate fans...........get ready for another "surprise" hispanic or black pick in the next draft.
 

Don Wassall

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The white-despisingmedia smear machine remains in high gear. We have the endless attacks on Tim Tebow for his Christian beliefs, while two of the other very few Whites who had a chance to be drafted in the first round -- Bulaga and Claussen -- were degraded, one for "short arms" the other for "character issues."

Now Bryce Harper, another Christian, has been smeared, this one originating from the poison keyboard of Kevin Goldstein. The author of this column on Harper does a good job of identifying the smear and how it spread and then rebutting it. All successful White athletes are attacked on the flimiest of pretenses, or if nothing can be found, then the take-down is simply manufactured out of whole cloth:

Phenom Harper hardly a 'bad guy'

is human nature, I suppose, for those who do not "have it all" to harbor resentment and contempt for those who do. This is why I have never much cared for Brad Pitt.


The baseball equivalent of Brad Pitt might be somebody like A-Rod. Or on the amateur level, somebody like Bryce Harper.



Harper is the College of Southern Nevada's 17-year-old wunderkind who has had each of baseball's so-called five tools -- hitting for average, hitting for power, running speed, arm strength and fielding ability --in his box since he was a zygote. He does these things so well that Sports Illustrated put him on the cover of its magazine after his sophomore year in high school.


This, I suppose again, might make anybody who has ever tried in vain to hit the cutoff man in an American Legion game somewhat envious.


It might also explain why a scouting website called BaseballProspectus.com climbed the stairs to the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository last week and tried to assassinate young Bryce's character.


Author Kevin Goldstein had a lot of nice things to say about Harper's baseball ability, stating that he far and away is the best prospect available in June's free-agent draft. But he closed with a high, hard one.


"It's impossible to find any talent evaluator who isn't blown away by Harper's ability on the field, but it's equally difficult to find one who doesn't genuinely dislike the kid. One scout called him among the worst amateur players he's ever seen from a makeup standpoint, with top-of-the-scale arrogance, a disturbingly large sense of entitlement, and on-field behavior that includes taunting opponents. "He's just a bad, bad guy," said one front-office official. [DW:Note the likely made up quote from a nameless authoritative sourceto give a sense ofunwarranted credibilityto Goldstein's smear.] How this plays into the negotiation or future evaluation is yet to be determined, as history has shown that the bigger talent a player is, the more makeup issues teams will deal with ..."


Whoa, Cheech Marin. That's pretty harsh. Another website called TheBigLead.com rehashed the Baseball Prospectus blog under the headline, "Everybody Hates Bryce Harper."


I don't hate Bryce Harper. Maybe that's because I've actually spoken to The Kid.


The Bryce Harper I had met reminded me of Richie Cunningham, if Richie Cunningham could hit home runs that travel 570 feet. He was pleasant to a fault, showed me religious passages he had inscribed on the bill of his cap and practically started blushing when I asked if he had a girlfriend. Granted, that was a couple of weeks before Sports Illustrated put him on the cover and grown men started sending him stuff in the mail to autograph that is destined to wind up on eBay.


Arrogant? Entitled? Bad guy? They must be talking about the Bizarro World Bryce Harper. Or Lenny Dykstra.


Tim Chambers, Harper's coach for a few more weeks at CSN, said he thinks this smear campaign might have stemmed from his decision to shield Harper from the media -- which has resulted in a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth by people in my business -- and from a recent series in which the Western Nevada bench jockeys were getting on Harper in the manner the Gashouse Gorillas got on Bugs Bunny. So when Harper hit another moon shot, he took his sweet ol' time circling the bases, displaying a bit of swagger. This much, Chambers admits.


The next day, the needling was even more severe. So when Harper threw a seed from the outfield in an attempt to nail a runner making a wide turn at first base, he sort of bowed in mock appreciation. The umpires considered this taunting and threw him out of the game.


If this is taunting, Dykstra's junior college career would have consisted of about six at-bats.


In the grand scheme, I doubt that a hatchet job by an obscure Internet website is going to influence major league baseball general managers and/or impact Harper's potential to make an obscene amount of money by playing baseball.


On Monday, I called him, not so much to quote him for this column, but just to see how he was holding up under incredible scrutiny and to ask if he thought achieving even more success had changed him in any way.


"No," said The Kid, his voice more pleasant than the weather outside. "Still the same guy."


The only thing I can figure out is those Internet guys must have Bryce Harper confused with Brad Pitt.
http://www.lvrj.com/sports/phenom-harper-hardly-a--bad-guy--92747314.htmlEdited by: Don Wassall
 

Don Wassall

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He's still living up to expectations:

Bryce Harper wins prestigious Golden SpikesAward

Bryce Harper added another accolade to his list of achievements Tuesday.



Harper, who batted .443 with 31 home runs and 98 RBIs this spring for the College of Southern Nevada in a wood-bat league, was selected as the recipient of the prestigious Golden Spikes Award for the nation's top amateur baseball player.


Harper, the top overall pick of the MLB First-Year Player Entry Draft last month by the Washington Nationals, was presented the award during the MLB All-Star FanFest in Anaheim, Calif., as part of All-Star Game festivities.


Harper, who primarily played catcher at CSN but will be converted to an outfielder by the Nationals, is the second junior-college player in the 33-year history of the Golden Spikes Award to win. The other finalists were Chris Duffy (Central Florida), Yasmani Grandal (Miami), Drew Pomeranz (Mississippi) and Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast).


"The committee determined that Bryce Harper's incredible season with Southern Nevada stood above the rest," said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO in a statement.


"We at USA Baseball are honored to recognize Bryce's achievements with the award for the top amateur baseball player in the country."


The 17-year-old Harper was introduced to the world last June when he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline, "Baseball's Chosen One." A few weeks later, he left Las Vegas High after his sophomore year, earned his GED and joined the Coyotes in a move partially orchestrated to be eligible for the draft one year earlier.


The move paid off.


In one game, he hit four home runs and had 10 RBIs. There also was a 500-foot home run in the playoffs with an aluminum bat.


Harper was the Scenic West Conference Player of the Year in leading CSN to the Junior College World Series. He was the ABCA Division I Baseball Player of the Year, Division I Baseball First-Team All-American and the Division I Rawlings Big Stick Award Winner.


Past recipients of the Golden Spikes Award include MLB players including Stephen Strasburg ('09), Buster Posey ('08), David Price ('07), Tim Lincecum ('06), Alex Gordon ('05), Jered Weaver ('04) and Rickie Weeks ('03).


Harper has until Aug. 15 to sign with the Washington and is expected to receive a contract worth $15 million. It has been reported that Scott Boras, Harper's agent, has had preliminary contract talks with the Nationals.


Strasburg, the No. 1 pick in 2009 by the Nationals who is also represented by Boras, signed for $15.1 million.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jul/13/bryce-harper-wins-prestigious-golden-spikes-awards/
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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Don Wassall said:
Harper, who batted .443 with 31 home runs and 98 RBIs this spring for the College of Southern Nevada in a wood-bat league ...



holy crap!
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Don Wassall said:
Harper was the Scenic West Conference Player of the Year in leading CSN to the Junior College World Series. He was the ABCA Division I Baseball Player of the Year, Division I Baseball First-Team All-American and the Division I Rawlings Big Stick Award Winner.
now then, just imagine if he was talented and athletic. then he might be a guy to keep an eye on.
smiley2.gif
 

Don Wassall

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Another update on "The Legend":

'Legend' Harper in no rush to ink deal

By SEAN WALKER
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
<DIV =story__intro>


Former College of Southern Nevada baseball player Bryce Harper is only 17 years old, but the No. 1 pick in this year's major league draft is already a "legend" in the opinion of noted sports agent Scott Boras.


"He's a legend in my mind. I've never seen a young man with that kind of power," Boras said of Harper, who clubbed a program-record 31 home runs for the Coyotes this spring in leading CSN to the Junior College World Series.



Boras, an adviser to Harper and his family, lauded the young player while attending a summer college league game involving his son, Shane, at Morse Stadium on the CSN campus Saturday.


Harper, who batted .443 and drove in 98 runs for the Coyotes, was selected as the top pick of the draft by the Washington Nationals on June 7. He will not begin negotiating a contract with the Nationals until "three or four" days before the Aug. 16 deadline, in according with Major League Baseball standards, Boras said.


However the negotiations work out, Harper's age shouldn't hamper him, he said.


"I think that if and when Bryce does play pro baseball, his ascension will be certainly something that is registered by his own performance, not his age," Boras said. "It's just like his ascension into college baseball; it was a function of his performance, not his age. There just aren't many people that can play collegiate baseball at the age of 17, particularly with a wood bat.


Boras said the former Las Vegas High star comports himself like a pro player. Boras pointed specifically to Harper's reception of the Golden Spikes Award, junior college's top individual honor, and his appearance at the major league All-Star game as evidence of his maturity.


"He was gracious, he was professional, he was prepared," Boras said. "(Other players and officials) couldn't believe he was only 17 years of age."


Boras credits Harper's family and brother, Bryan, a 27th-round Chicago Cubs draft pick, for keeping the phenom well-balanced.


"They've taken what could be a difficult situation, and handled it very smoothly," he said.
http://www.lvrj.com/sports/-legend--harper-in-no-rush-to-ink-deal-99219614.html
 

white lightning

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Well it's official. Byrce Harper is going to be a Washington National. They are going to be a team to watch in the future if they keep loading up on all of this young talent. The kid is going to be amazing. I can't wait to watch him play. He is quite simply the most exciting baseball prospect to come along in decades. Maybe one of the best ever! Way to go Bryce. Here is the article.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-harpersigns081610
 

JReb1

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The Nationals need to lock up Adam Dunn to a long term deal. Dunn is pretty close talent and stat wise as the super-hyped Ryan Howard (IMHO) and he should be rewarded with a contract close to 75% of Howards.
 

Tom Iron

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I hope Harper plays this year. He should get a few at bats in I think.

Wish he hadn't hooked up with that Boras guy though. Oh well.

Tom Iron...
 

guest301

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I'm not sure about the character of that " Boras guy" either but he did just hook up Harper to a 9.9 million dollar contract for a teenager who has never swung a bat yet in MLB.Edited by: guest301
 

JReb1

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Boras is a scumbag but he gets his clients properly (usually over) paid so he's doing his job right and I'd want him to represent me if I was a pro looking for financial security.
 

icsept

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Bryce Harper looked great taking some major league bp at Nationals Park the other day. He was blasting balls into the upper deck and he's only 17. This guy is a real phenom.
 

Don Wassall

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Bryce update, written by Thomas Boswell of The Washington Post:

Bryce Harper makes everyone take notice

After security men and Washington Nationals officials had pried Bryce Harper out of the middle of a scrum of autograph hounds who had the 18-year-old backed up against a fence, Manager Jim Riggleman walked back to the clubhouse, shaking his head at the rock-star mosh pit caused by a rookie.




"It's just too much," Riggleman muttered, figuring out ways to protect Harper from being swamped as he leaves the practice field on future days.


Then, a tiny boy whirled up to Riggleman with a pen and paper in hand. "Are you Bryce Harpy?" the tyke asked.


"No, I'm not," the manager replied.


This spring, who is?


After watching Harper's first spring training batting practice, the harpies of fame are virtually the only force that has much chance of snatching a feast of stardom from the teen. It's unlikely many pitchers will blow him away.


In his first spring training day in a Nationals uniform, Harper lined the first pitch back through the box, smashed the second over the right field fence through a cross wind and then practiced hitting liners to the opposite field. Despite his size - 6 feet 3, 225 pounds - the left-handed Harper has a swing that's both short and quick to the ball, yet ferocious with a high finish.
full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/21/AR2011022103843.html
 
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