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OT: Thoughts on Bryce Harper

LionJim

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Oct 8, 2003
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Levittown, PA to Olney, MD
In the recent three-game series with San Francisco, Harper was 5-8, 5 walks. Always on base. He hit a blooper in the gap where the CF made a lazy turn, made it a double, easy score on a single.

Leads the NL in runs, XBH, OBP, Slugging, OPS, WAR. Is second in NL in average, walks, and home runs.

This isn't a rah-rah, Go Nationals piece, just a remark that watching him play this year has been one of the most enjoyable baseball experiences I've ever had. Think about how much fun it was to watch Schmidt at his peak, Roberto, Frank Robinson. Not saying at all that Harper is up there with them, just that it's so much goddamn fun to watch him bust his ass every play and play baseball the way we expect it to be played. Just a joy.
 
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In the recent three-game series with San Francisco, Harper was 5-8, 5 walks. Always on base. He hit a blooper in the gap where the CF made a lazy turn, made it a double, easy score on a single.

Leads the NL in runs, XBH, OBP, Slugging, OPS, WAR. Is second in NL in average and home runs.

This isn't a rah-rah, Go Nationals piece, just a remark that watching him play this year has been one of the most enjoyable baseball experiences I've ever had. Think about how much fun it was to watch Schmidt at his peak, Roberto, Frank Robinson. Not saying at all that Harper is up there with them, just that it's so much goddamn fun to watch him bust his ass every play and play baseball the way we expect it to be played. Just a joy.

Yeah, just looked up some numbers....amazing
Harper, 22 years old, already has 80 HR and 446 hits for his career

and look at Mike Trout
23 years old (turn 24 next month) 119 HRS and 662 hits for his career

A pair of young stars like this? goes back a ways....Mays and Mantle?
 
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In the recent three-game series with San Francisco, Harper was 5-8, 5 walks. Always on base. He hit a blooper in the gap where the CF made a lazy turn, made it a double, easy score on a single.

Leads the NL in runs, XBH, OBP, Slugging, OPS, WAR. Is second in NL in average and home runs.

This isn't a rah-rah, Go Nationals piece, just a remark that watching him play this year has been one of the most enjoyable baseball experiences I've ever had. Think about how much fun it was to watch Schmidt at his peak, Roberto, Frank Robinson. Not saying at all that Harper is up there with them, just that it's so much goddamn fun to watch him bust his ass every play and play baseball the way we expect it to be played. Just a joy.
Must be nice to have a very young player who actually lives up to the hype.
 
No doubt Harper is the real deal. It's tough to be a prodigy/sure thing, but ever since he became known as teenager through Sports Illustrated and then followed by other media coverage (ESPN, etc.), this guy had stardom written all over him. He certainly hasn't disappointed. The one thing he needs to learn and apparently is learning is to control his physical skills and aggressive play on occasions when running the base paths/sliding, or running for a fly ball into a fence/wall somewhere. Honestly, he plays so hard (old school) that he risks getting injured quite often and no one wants him to sustain himself physically more than the Washington ownership/management. If he stay healthy, you may see Mays/Mantle type numbers by his early-mid 30's.....
 
No doubt Harper is the real deal. It's tough to be a prodigy/sure thing, but ever since he became known as teenager through Sports Illustrated and then followed by other media coverage (ESPN, etc.), this guy had stardom written all over him. He certainly hasn't disappointed. The one thing he needs to learn and apparently is learning is to control his physical skills and aggressive play on occasions when running the base paths/sliding, or running for a fly ball into a fence/wall somewhere. Honestly, he plays so hard (old school) that he risks getting injured quite often and no one wants him to sustain himself physically more than the Washington ownership/management. If he stay healthy, you may see Mays/Mantle type numbers by his early-mid 30's.....
Yep. He's got to learn that the 162 games are more important than the single play. The announcers yesterday took him to task for sliding in head first on a steal, that's how he got hurt last year. Frank Robinson was the same way, got hurt all the time on the basepaths. Nobody broke up more double plays than Frank Robinson.
 
In the recent three-game series with San Francisco, Harper was 5-8, 5 walks. Always on base. He hit a blooper in the gap where the CF made a lazy turn, made it a double, easy score on a single.

Leads the NL in runs, XBH, OBP, Slugging, OPS, WAR. Is second in NL in average, walks, and home runs.

This isn't a rah-rah, Go Nationals piece, just a remark that watching him play this year has been one of the most enjoyable baseball experiences I've ever had. Think about how much fun it was to watch Schmidt at his peak, Roberto, Frank Robinson. Not saying at all that Harper is up there with them, just that it's so much goddamn fun to watch him bust his ass every play and play baseball the way we expect it to be played. Just a joy.

I've been to three Nats games so far this season and have seen him hit five HRs in those games! And last season players voted him the most over rated player.
 
I've been to three Nats games so far this season and have seen him hit five HRs in those games! And last season players voted him the most over rated player.
He just announced he's passing on the Home Run Derby. Good. The risk of messing up your swing is too high; I've seen players just stop hitting after participating.
 
Kid has some chutzpah. Him and Trout are awesome to watch. A lot of great young talent in MLB. The Correia kid in Houston is the real deal. Bryant in Chicago. I think Kyle Schwarbrer is going to be an awesome hitter for them. Peterson in LA. Sox are pretty happy with Mookie and Xander. Quite possibly their two best players even though they're just 22.
 
Kid has some chutzpah. Him and Trout are awesome to watch. A lot of great young talent in MLB. The Correia kid in Houston is the real deal. Bryant in Chicago. I think Kyle Schwarbrer is going to be an awesome hitter for them. Peterson in LA. Sox are pretty happy with Mookie and Xander. Quite possibly their two best players even though they're just 22.
Y'know, if you look at MLB and the NBA, the number of knuckleheads is way down, have you noticed? I mean, ten years ago it seemed as almost every team had a head case or two, a "everyone has one, this guy's ours" sort of player. Now, the level of professionalism in both the NBA and MLB seems to have gone up, maybe not every player is likable, but there are very few players that fans straight out hate nowadays, it seems, no Albert Belles to be found.. Maybe it's just me? I see no similar trend in the NFL, unfortunately.
 
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