While some kids in high school were busy looking for a part-time job or a date for Friday night, Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was already a household name. Harper appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as he was blasting 500-foot home runs in high school. Harper would go on to earn his GED in 2009 in order to make himself eligible for the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. In that draft, Harper was the first overall pick by the Washington Nationals and after a brief stint in the minors, he was ready for the big stage in 2012 when he made his MLB debut. Harper would go on to hit 22 home runs as a rookie and he was named the National League’s Rookie of the Year. Harper’s first three seasons with the Nats were good, but he has been compared too much to Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout who is another young phenom and the reigning American League MVP. But for those folks that believe Trout is better than Harper, the youngster on the Nationals is letting his bat do the talking this season.
Bryce Harper
The Nationals began this season with several key injuries to their club, but Harper has picked up the slack. It started on Opening Day when Harper went 2-for-4 with one home run in a loss to the New York Mets. Harper would finish the month of April with a .286 batting average and 5 home runs. And as the weather has warmed up this spring, so has Harper. So far in May, Harper has hit 13 home runs including going yard three times against the Miami Marlins on May 6. Harper’s 18 home runs are tied with Seattle Mariners designated hitter Nelson Cruz for the Major League Baseball lead this season while he sits alone at the top with 43 runs batted in. As a team the Nationals began this season slow and they were looking up at the Mets in the NL East. But now with Harper leading the way in the Nats lineup, they have bypassed the Mets for first place in the division.
It’s freightening for the other teams in the National League East that Harper is only 22-years old as he is only going to get better. Harper has always had the talent, now he is simply putting it all together. The only two things that have held Harper back have been experience and the ability to stay healthy. Now in his fourth MLB season, Harper has a better understanding of the strike zone and he’s also working counts better at the plate as he is batting .331 this season along with drawing 42 walks. Harper plays the game hard which includes him crashing into outfield walls to catch a fly ball as he is the modern day “Charlie Hustle”. But Harper’s reckless abandon has seen him land on the disabled list in the past where he cannot help the Nationals win games. Harper still plays hard, but he has learned to tone it down a bit in order to be available as much as possible.
Harper’s strong start has now made him one of the favorites to be the NL MVP this season as he is keeping up with Trout. But unlike Trout, Harper came in with much more pressure on his shoulders.
Both Harper and Trout were first-round picks in their respective draft years, but Harper was the first overall pick in 2010. Trout didn’t enter Major League Baseball with the amount of hype and pressure that Harper did. And Trout also joined an organization in the Angels that had a winning tradition compared to that of the Nationals. When Harper arrived in D.C., he was hailed as a savior and he wasn’t even the legal age to get into a nightclub.
Now Harper gets the rock star treatment wherever he goes. Harper’s jersey is one of the hottest items for fans to purchase and he’s a sponsor’s dream as big companies such as Under Armour and Subway are already using him as a spokesperson. Harper is well on his way to re-writing the Nationals offensive record books along with being one the best to ever play the game. And for Harper, the bigger the stage, the better that he plays.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
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