Our sports prodigies — those phenoms touted to be the next Michael Jordan, Willie Mays, Joe Montana or whomever — often fail, spectacularly. In the 1980s, Todd Marinovich’s father engineered his son to be the second coming of Montana. After a brief NFL career, Marinovich struggled with drug problems. Jennifer Capriati turned pro when she was just 14. Yes, she won three Grand Slam titles, but she fought depression and addiction, and fell victim to burnout. The New York Yankees, at the time a pitching-starved franchise in the doldrums, took Brien Taylor with the first pick of the 1991 draft. He cost the Yankees $1.55 million, and what did they get in return? Taylor, who hurt his shoulder in a brawl, never threw a pitch in the big leagues.
So when our athletes actually do live up to the ridiculous hype surrounding them, we tend to get hooked. We’re grateful that all those articles we read about their inevitable greatness were worth the time. All that anticipation we felt, as they made their way through the ranks, was warranted. Tiger Woods struck golf balls as a two-year-old on the Mike Douglas Show; by now he’s won 14 major championships. ESPN turned LeBron James’ high school games into nationally televised circuses; he has two NBA MVP awards, captivated America’s attention with his TV spectacle announcing his intention to leave his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat, known as “the Decision,” and is the most psychoanalyzed superstar around.
We may not love James and Woods. Just witness all the schadenfreude surrounding Woods’ sex scandal and struggles, and James’ fourth-quarter vanishing acts in this year’s NBA finals. But we care enough to yap about them and tune in religiously to their exploits. As a result, their sports reap enormous benefits.
Bryce Harper, the right fielder for the Maryland-based Hagerstown Suns, a Single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals of Washington, D.C., could do the same for baseball. Harper appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated two years ago, when he was 16. According to lore, as a schoolboy Harper once hit a 570-ft. home run. During a home-run derby while in high school, Harper smacked a 502-ft. shot at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. It was the longest home run in the history of the ballpark.
At this point, it is not an exaggeration to say he is the LeBron James of baseball, a gifted freak meeting, if not exceeding, all expectations. Harper left his Las Vegas high school after his sophomore year, opting to pursue a GED so that he could enroll in junior college to play against better competition and accelerate his draft eligibility. At the College of Southern Nevada, Harper batted .443, with 31 home runs, 98 RBI and 20 stolen bases. The previous school record for home runs was 12. The Nationals took him with the top pick of the 2010 draft.
With baseball owners’ worst nightmare, superagent Scott Boras, representing him, Harper signed a five-year, $9.9 million contract with the Nationals, a record for a drafted position player. And he’s tearing up the minors. Going into the South Atlantic League All-Star break, Harper was hitting .330 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI. The Nats, who are hovering around .500 — a major accomplishment for a perennially losing franchise although the team’s manager, Jim Riggleman, just resigned because the team didn’t pick up the option on his contract, might be inclined to take things slowly. Washington pitcher Stephen Strasburg, the top pick of the 2009 draft and another phenom showered with lofty hopes, caused a sensation upon making his debut last season, but then he blew out his elbow. He is out until 2012. Because of their delicate arms, pitchers present more of a risk injury than position players. Still, the Nats are going to be careful. The team has indicated that Harper won’t move up to Washington, D.C. in 2011.
But once Harper arrives in D.C., he’s sure to shake things up. Harper is no humble rookie just trying to get along. Far from it. His outspoken personality and cocky behavior has already alienated many baseball elders — and at the same time could attract the attention of more casual baseball fans. “Bryce Harper Does Another Jerkass Bryce Harper Thing,” read a recent headline on Deadspin.com, the irreverent sports website, after Harper blew a kiss to an opposing pitcher during a home-run trot. Another pitcher from the Greensboro Grasshoppers had hit Harper the day before, and it was payback time. Count Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt as among Harper’s critics. “At some point the game itself, the competition on the field is going to have to figure out a way to police this young man,” Schmidt told ESPN after the kissing incident. “If indeed his manager won’t, the game will end up taking care of it.”
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