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SI.com article on 16 year-old Bryce Harper (1 Viewer)

Very cool. Sounds an awful lot like the Josh Hamilton story what with the parental involvement and playing with older talent from a young age and all the expectations and the "once in a generation" stuff. Obviously not suggesting anything negative about this kid, just that reading that article I felt like I was reading the first few chapters of Hamilton's book Beyond Belief word-for-word.

 
By the way I wish I had heard of this kid three months ago. We have a portion after our regular draft called a "Dynasty Draft" where we can select anyone who is not yet a major league rookie (130 AB, 50 IP) up to a maximum of 4 guys. Anyone taken there can be kept for as long as we want them without ever having to burn a pick.

Unfortunately, this Dynasty Draft is every other year and from the sound of things this kid might already be in the bigs by 2011!

 
When asked about his goals as a ballplayer, he replies, "Be in the Hall of Fame, definitely. Play in Yankee Stadium. Play in the pinstripes. Be considered the greatest baseball player who ever lived. I can't wait."
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:confused:
 
The most interesting thing here is his stride. I wish the article included something re: plate discipline and such, I imagine he gets thrown a lot of junk.

 
I think I read this story before, except instead of Bryce Harper the name was Bobby Murcer, Clint Hurdle, Joe Charboueau, Pat Tabler, Ben Grieve or Sean Burroughs.

 
Raider Nation said:
When asked about his goals as a ballplayer, he replies, "Be in the Hall of Fame, definitely. Play in Yankee Stadium. Play in the pinstripes. Be considered the greatest baseball player who ever lived. I can't wait."
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:coffee:
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bolded part = get paid
 
shuke said:
Encyclopedia Brown said:
I think I read this story before, except instead of Bryce Harper the name was Bobby Murcer, Clint Hurdle, Joe Charboueau, Pat Tabler, Ben Grieve or Sean Burroughs.
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Greg Jeffries down?
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Gregg Jefferies and Billy Beane were the first two guys I thought of. I still have a triple digit number of Jefferies rookie cards.If legit, where do you play a kid like this in the field. Seems like a waste to have him pitch. Do you play him behind the plate and risk loosing the knees early?
 
Bogart said:
shuke said:
Encyclopedia Brown said:
I think I read this story before, except instead of Bryce Harper the name was Bobby Murcer, Clint Hurdle, Joe Charboueau, Pat Tabler, Ben Grieve or Sean Burroughs.
Click to expand...
Greg Jeffries down?
Click to expand...
Gregg Jefferies and Billy Beane were the first two guys I thought of. I still have a triple digit number of Jefferies rookie cards.If legit, where do you play a kid like this in the field. Seems like a waste to have him pitch. Do you play him behind the plate and risk loosing the knees early?
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I'd make him a CF. Put his athleticism to good use, without wearing him down behind the plate.
 
Mr. Littlejeans said:
Bogart said:
shuke said:
Encyclopedia Brown said:
I think I read this story before, except instead of Bryce Harper the name was Bobby Murcer, Clint Hurdle, Joe Charboueau, Pat Tabler, Ben Grieve or Sean Burroughs.
Click to expand...
Greg Jeffries down?
Click to expand...
Gregg Jefferies and Billy Beane were the first two guys I thought of. I still have a triple digit number of Jefferies rookie cards.If legit, where do you play a kid like this in the field. Seems like a waste to have him pitch. Do you play him behind the plate and risk loosing the knees early?
Click to expand...
I'd make him a CF. Put his athleticism to good use, without wearing him down behind the plate.
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Contract-wise, his best best is somewhere in the infield. If he has the athleticism to field SS or 2B, that is where the :goodposting: $ :shrug: would be at. 3B would be more likely considering his frame.
 
Encyclopedia Brown said:
I think I read this story before, except instead of Bryce Harper the name was Bobby Murcer, Clint Hurdle, Joe Charboneau, Pat Tabler, Ben Grieve or Sean Burroughs.
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He's got a lot to live up to (per Wiki):
dye his hair unnatural colors, open beer bottles with his eye socket, and drink beer with a straw through his nose, and other stories that emerged about how he did his own dental work and fixed a broken nose with a pair of pliers and a few shots of Jack Daniel's whiskey, stood out in 1980. By mid-season, Charboneau was the subject of a song--"Go Joe Charboneau"--that reached #3 on the local charts.[1]

He finished the season with 87 runs batted in and a .289 batting average while winning the American League Rookie of the Year award--all in spite of being stabbed with a ball-point pen by a crazed fan as he waited for the team bus on March 8. The pen penetrated an inch and hit a rib
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ahh...memories
 
Here's an article about his Hamilton-like performance at the HS Home Run Derby at the Trop (w a metal bat):

http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2009/...siting_bryc.php

Over the next 60 seconds, Harper unleashed an awe-inspiring series of hits to areas of Tropicana Field few major leaguers have reached:

• 460 feet to the top edge of the Jumbotron in right field; 119 mph off the bat

• 484 feet to the back wall of the stadium, 15 feet above the Jumbotron; 122 mph

• 485 feet to the back wall, just below the orange Bright House “target” sign; 123 mph

• 405 feet on a blistering line drive around the RF pole; 118 mph

• 502 feet to the back wall, in the vicinity of the first “A” in the Tropicana Field sign, 20 feet above the top of the Jumbotron; 124.5 mph

• 477 feet to right-center field, halfway up and a few feet to the left of the Jumbotron; 119 mph.
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Surprised there's been no mention of performance-enhancers yet...
 
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Does anyone have any actual numbers for him? Granted, they're from HS, but I'd be interested to see how much he's striking out.

 
Emailed this article to a coworker whose son (class 2010) is a highly regarded pitching prospect. She said Harper caught her son at the AFLAC AA game last summer. He might see him again this weekend at some national showcase at the Metrodome.

 
looks like he's officialy skipping his last 2 years of HS and going to JUCO. should be eligible for next year's draft.

 
Oh Yes! said:
Finless said:
Oh Yes! said:
TLEF316 said:
looks like he's officialy skipping his last 2 years of HS and going to JUCO. should be eligible for next year's draft.
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no way
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Read it and weep, dude
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thats ridiculous
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i dont think so. If he'd been born in The dominican republic, he'd be able to auction himself to the highest bidder. (16 years old) He'd be in the minors right now. Yeah, its a strange situation, but kudos to the kid for having the guts to try it. He's not going to get better playing high school ball.

 
igbomb said:
Oh Yes! said:
Finless said:
Oh Yes! said:
TLEF316 said:
looks like he's officialy skipping his last 2 years of HS and going to JUCO. should be eligible for next year's draft.
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no way
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Read it and weep, dude
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thats ridiculous
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Why? If he can get even $15 million coming out of high school, it's a brilliant move on his part.
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This isnt football. The current highest signing bonus ever given is 10.5 million - and that went to Mark Prior nearly a decade ago. That hardly turned out well for the Cubs. Even if Strasburg tops that number by a significant margin, there is no reason to believe that this kid would get money near that level. Yes he's a great prospect, but he's also very young and no where near as ready for MLB service. 7 million would be a safe bet, but projecting 15 is way high.
 
This isnt football. The current highest signing bonus ever given is 10.5 million - and that went to Mark Prior nearly a decade ago. That hardly turned out well for the Cubs. Even if Strasburg tops that number by a significant margin, there is no reason to believe that this kid would get money near that level. Yes he's a great prospect, but he's also very young and no where near as ready for MLB service. 7 million would be a safe bet, but projecting 15 is way high.

I would pull my kids out of HS for 5 million, and I know that this kid is going to get at least that amount plus more in endorsements. Good call on his/parents part GL slugger

 
SHIZNITTTT said:
This isnt football. The current highest signing bonus ever given is 10.5 million - and that went to Mark Prior nearly a decade ago. That hardly turned out well for the Cubs. Even if Strasburg tops that number by a significant margin, there is no reason to believe that this kid would get money near that level. Yes he's a great prospect, but he's also very young and no where near as ready for MLB service. 7 million would be a safe bet, but projecting 15 is way high.
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I would pull my kids out of HS for 5 million, and I know that this kid is going to get at least that amount plus more in endorsements. Good call on his/parents part GL slugger
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Exactly. People put too much value into college. If you told me that my kid could get $7 million by foregoing college, I'd give my stamp of approval in a heartbeat. Now if you want to argue that his long-term worth will be higher by refining his game in college, I'm okay with that. I'm not buying it, but I see the argument.
 
College is beyond over-rated for 90% of those who attend. It's a money-making scam for the most part in today's day and age. This decision is beyond wise, and it will be wise for the uber-stud American basketball players who will skip their JR/SR years of HS to get paid in Europe.

 
My biggest concern will be to see how this kid turns out when he gets 10 million dollars plus at around age 18. I for one would have been pretty dangerous with that kind of money at that age. Hopefully the parents will get some good people around this kid to help out with his new wealth/stardom.

The only advice I can give the kid is to make sure and purchase a lot of "protection" before some hottie hits the lottery as well.

 
The Clifton Comets were willing to take a chance on this kid and made the roster space a couple weeks ago. Looks like he's got a shot to be the best ever.

 
Is it too early to start a "Countdown to 800 HR/ 4500 Hits/ 2300 RBI/ 1500 SB/ 2300 Runs" thread yet??

 
So if Jason Heyward and Mark Prior and Stephen Strasburg and Joe Mauer and a number of others that I'm forgetting are also, "once-in-a-generational" talent, are we talking about the generations of fruit flies or butterflies?

Harper does look hot, though. I'll probably make a play to draft him into one of our minor-league spots next year.

 
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