Bryce Harper: The Future of Baseball

While you were in high school trying to figure out who you were going to take to senior prom, Bryce Harper was smacking home runs left and right and setting the baseball world in a frenzy. When Harper was a 15 year old freshman, he hit a 570 foot homer that traveled over the right field fence, two trees, and five lanes of Las Vegas traffic. A 570 foot homer is unheard of in the major leagues, let alone in a high school playoff game. The longest home run hit in the majors last season was a 486 ft bomb by Prince Fielder against the Astros. Prince Fielder has little less than 10 years on Harper and Mr. Harper still hit a longer home run than anyone in the majors last season at 15 years old. This is unheard of. He was the cover boy of Sports Illustrated magazine at 16, first overall pick to the Nationals in the MLB Draft at 17, and more than likely making his debut in the majors at 19. Not only is Bryce Harper the future of baseball (or the Lebron James of baseball as some call him), but he is soon to be an American icon. He's one of the most talked about players in baseball and hasn't even made his debut yet.

One thing I love about Bryce Harper is that he's pretty good, but not afraid to admit it. One thing PadreBama loves about his favorite professional athletes is cockiness. Jordan had it, Ali had it, Tiger has it, Kobe has it, Aaron Rodgers has it, and so does Bryce Harper. He's better than anyone he has ever played against and isn't shy about it. Not to mention his cheesy mustache. He also pulled the ultimate "I'm better than you" move by smacking a home run in a minor league game then blowing a kiss to the pitcher. A move that an under the drinking age baseball player shouldn't pull, but he did it anyway. Harper has earned my respect.

Don't know if I said this before, but he's pretty good. His list of accomplishments by the age of 19 is already more impressive than most people by the time they're 50. At 17 years old, he won the Golden Spikes award, which is an award given to the best amateur baseball player. This award is usually given to juniors or seniors in college, but Harper was impressive enough to win it at 17. He left high school early to accelerate his readiness for the majors and by playing better competition, because he was too good for high school ball. He went on to play in a junior college wooden bat league and hit 31 homers. In this interview by ESPN, he has gone on record by saying he wants to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer and the best player to ever live. The unbelievable thing is it could come true.

The hype Bryce Harper receives turns into major press coverage and headlines. The game of baseball needs another guy that will generate headlines wherever he goes, sort of like what Stephen Strasburg did last year. Harper will certainly be that guy when he gets moved to the majors. The media can't get enough of the guy. The comparisons to Lebron James seems to be outlandish, but fair. The way Lebron grabbed headlines as a high schooler and now in the NBA is the same way Harper will have it. Watch and see. He also loves the game more than anyone in the world. You won't find many young, cocky, and gifted athletes that have the desire and passion for the game as does Harper. He quotes that his favorite player growing up was Mickey Mantle. He know's what he wants to be when his career is done and thats impressive for a 19 year old.

We may have to wait a little bit for Harper to make his major league debut for the Nationals this year, but when he does, it will be nothing short of incredible. He was recently just sent to Triple A ball for the start of the major league season to be groomed into the future center fielder for the Nationals. Bryce Harper: baseball prodigy, American icon.

- Padre Bama
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