OT: Harper

[HOF Auto Rookies]

Bryce Harper. Not jumping on his band wagon or anything, drove down from MN to see this kid play in JuCo and he's playing like that now...finally.

I don't like comparisons because each Legend make up who they are in different ways. Seasons like this have happened in the past recently (A-Rod, Pujols), but I didn't get to enjoy and appreciate those because I was younger, but now I have these two in Trout and Harper that I hope will amaze us everyday.

It's not close to being fair for me to compare these two to Mantle/Mays/Aaron (pick your two poisons), but, I am so thrilled to have two young players playing out of their minds to give us modern folks a slap in the face of reality for how the game should be played.

Hopefully the game is back to how it should be played, if so, it's up to these two kids...


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[GregMitch34]

Not quite on their level but I would add just below--Nolan Arenado, another young veteran (just turned 24). Strong hitter, human highlight play in field, engaging personality....

[packs]

Harper is great. I'm bummed I didn't get into his stuff last year when everyone wrote him off.

The future is bright for baseball. Very soon we'll be seeing the likes of Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, and Byron Buxton in the big leagues. But I think the real once in a generation player is going to be 18 year AA pitcher Julio Urias.

[arc2q]

I live in DC area and am a Nats fan, so maybe I am a little biased. I don't understand why there seems to be such animosity toward Bryce Harper across the league. He was previously voted most over-rated player, the umpires seem to really dislike him, etc. He seems like a pretty smart, humble person who has few vices. And he is just plain good. He's got a cannon from the outfield and a fantastic swing.

A lot of the lamenting last year about who will be the next big star now that Jeter is gone seems overblown. There are a lot of great young hitters in baseball right now. Can't wait to see Buxton in the bigs soon.

[packs]

I think a lot of Harper's reputation stems from jealousy. Lots of players had to pay their dues. But Harper was more or less handed the title of superstar before he became one. That's not his own doing. It's the media who labeled him a star. Some players I'm sure didn't like that but you can't blame Harper for other people's opinions.

[sycks22]

Originally Posted by arc2q

I live in DC area and am a Nats fan, so maybe I am a little biased. I don't understand why there seems to be such animosity toward Bryce Harper across the league. He was previously voted most over-rated player, the umpires seem to really dislike him, etc. He seems like a pretty smart, humble person who has few vices. And he is just plain good. He's got a cannon from the outfield and a fantastic swing.

A lot of the lamenting last year about who will be the next big star now that Jeter is gone seems overblown. There are a lot of great young hitters in baseball right now. Can't wait to see Buxton in the bigs soon.

I don't know if humble and Bryce Harper should be in the same sentence. Before he hit the show he was talking about how great he was in high school and Juco. There's probably a reason why umps don't like him either, every borderline call he looks at blue and screams at him. I'm fine with disagreeing with a call, but you don't have to hurt your team by making your hitting zone a little bigger now.

[packs]

Why not humble?

When a beer company tried to capitalize on his "clown question bro" quote by releasing a "Clown Question" beer, he suggested they donate portions of their sales to a daughter of a police officer from Denver who was killed in the line of duty. The company agreed.

When cameras caught him wearing a customized fire dept. helmet during a club house celebration, he put the logo onto T-shirts and began selling them to raise money for the DC Fire Fighters Burn Foundation.

Just a few of his gestures in his early 20s that show he sees the world as bigger than himself.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by arc2q

I live in DC area and am a Nats fan, so maybe I am a little biased. I don't understand why there seems to be such animosity toward Bryce Harper across the league. He was previously voted most over-rated player, the umpires seem to really dislike him, etc.

It's a rep that goes back to his high school days. He was anointed by Sports Illustrated when they put him on their cover at 16 years old. He carried himself with a bit of a chip on his shoulder through his early pro career and responded poorly to trash talking and hassling. He's been a lot better in the majors but he clearly came into the league carrying himself with some arrogance which, combined with the "OMG, HE'S A SUPERSTAR!!!!!" tag hung on him by the media long before he'd earned, garnered him resentment. On top of that, he also argues balls and strikes way too much. And then there's stuff like the petulant way he put his toe in the box last week in the game where he got kicked out.

Don't get me wrong - I like Harper. But I totally get why there's animosity and it's absolutely NOT completely unearned.

[t206blogcom]

Been a Harper fan from day one (Nats fan/season ticket holder) and have been extremely impressed with him this year. Finally he's healthy and I hope he stays that way. Matt Williams has done a lot to help get the media off his back and to keep Bryce focused.

At one time I had the most Harper PSA 10s on their registry but with as many cards that are produced these days, I gave up on collecting all of his cards. I unfortunately sold 2/3 of my PSA 10s to help fund a house purchase. I'm seeing cards that sold for $125/$150 6 months ago going for $350+ now that he's finally running on all cylinders. Had I waited to sell them all now, I'd be much wealthier. Great time to sell his cards if you're not looking to hold long term. Terrible time to buy.

I'm not much into comparing him to former greats or placing such labels as he's the next Mantle or Mays or whomever. I will say that, at least currently, he's playing at a level that's on par if not better than the greats.

Currently he's leading all of baseball in OPS, SLG, OBP, RBI, BB and tied for first in HR and Runs. Babe Ruth's career OPS is 1.164 and Harper's currently is 1.215. Not saying Harper's the next Ruth, just saying his current numbers are amazingly good.

[mattsey9]

Any mention of baseball's young stars has to mention Chicago's young duo of Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo.

[btcarfagno]

Harper is having a great season so far, and even as a Pirates fan I am happy to see it. He seems to play the game all out and I very much respect him for that.

I do not, however, expect him to keep up this pace, or even all that close to this pace. We will see how he does after the league makes an adjustment that he has some trouble with. What does he do after his next 2-for-20 stretch. Does he make the adjustments he needs to at that point. I can see him ending with 35 or so homers and an OPS somewhere in the 975 range...which is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Especially in this day and age. I'm just not going to extrapolate what he has done in his first 200 plate appearances of 2015 onto the rest of the year or the career of a 22 year old. I mean...Dee Gordon is hitting .370 something so far this year. I could extrapolate that into 3500 hits and a career batting average that would make Ty Cobb envious.

Tom C

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by t206blogcom

Babe Ruth's career OPS is 1.164 and Harper's currently is 1.215. Not saying Harper's the next Ruth, just saying his current numbers are amazingly good.

Of course, Ruth achieved his over the course of 2500 games. Harper's put up his over the course of....(less than) 50. Not quite the same thing.

However, Harper's 1.215 would be the highest for a single-season since 1941 excluding Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire.

[birdman42]

Been a huge Harper fan since the early game where Cole Hamels "welcomed" him to the big leagues. First toss, he hits Harper in the back with a purpose pitch. Harp goes to third on a single, then in-your-face steals home on Hamels' pickoff move to first. Way to play the game.