Bryce Harper, catcher and Scott Boras advisee

CSN 25
CENTRAL ARIZONA 11

Bryce Harper went 6-for-6 with four home runs and 10 RBIs for the Coyotes in the championship game.

"I came into this game saying, 'I need to pick it up for my team,' … and maybe hit a few bombs."

The 6-foot-3-inch slugger hit for the cycle Friday, and he needed just a single in his final at-bat to do it again. Instead, he ripped a two-run homer to center.

"Some people said, 'He needs a single for cycle.' I said, 'I don't care. I want him to hit another home run,' " CSN coach Tim Chambers said. "Bryce had a great day."

Yeah this dude is pretty amazing. . .

I think he went 4-4 the other day with 4 HR.

he's probably gonna get moved off of catcher sadly since he'll be on a NL team and can't do the C/DH thing that mauer does to hit every day, and if he's really this good you don't want him on the bench 20 games a season

for all the hype - he better catch *and* pitch.

^ lol

A high schooler that can hit rockets over +500 ft is pretty amazing.

Holy shit, didn't realize that Washington gets to pick him with the first pick.

Strasburg throwing to Harper will be neat.

Just got thrown out of a game. Second ejection this year so he's out of the JUCO World Series and that's probably the end of his JUCO career and the last baseball he'll play till next March/April. Baseball is pretty weird.

The opposing catcher pumped his fist at the ejection!

Good stuff.

Alex I bet the Nationals will have him playing in a fall league.

General consensus among scouts, etc, seems to be that they won't be doing that since he'd be on average 4+ years younger than the competition.

the Nats should trade for A.J. Pierzynski to mentor him.

So who is a bigger dick? Harper or Boras?

http://mopupduty.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/bryce-harper.jpg

Is this the draft thread? I just posted on ILHoops like an asshole =\

Boras doesn't seem particularly dicky to me. I mean compared to like every sports franchise owner maybe ever, he seems a-ok. Harper on the other hand seems like 17 y/o dude who thinks the sun shines out of his ass.

Who in this bitch looks like a juggalo

tbf that picture kinda makes it looks like the sun is shining from his ass.

What is up with the eye black? I saw it on Harper the other week and thought it was just some like smear issue, and then I saw a couple of women at the College Softball World Series doing it too.

I think it's some pseudo-corpsepaint thing.

war paint.

he is wari0r.

also: he's an outfielder now.

and a Nat.

http://images2.makefive.com/images/200837/945c18c653bca3f6.jpg

"also: he's an outfielder now"

This seems like a smart move. With that kind of power would you really want to lose him for a fifth of your games plus deal with all the nagging injury nonsense that Catchers are prone to?

Taillon evidently still using the glove he got as a t-baller.

Blue Jays have four of the first 41 picks

:D

Is Drew Pomeranz trick-or-treating as Jay Cutler

looks like a crusted over red wine stain (dont pick the scabs bryce)

http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanager/_photos/daily-pitch/2010/06/07/draftno1harperx-inset-community.jpg

Pomeranz has Blagojevich hair.

And Harper looks like he belongs in Dethklok.

Ed Wade you are so fucking stupid

why did they do that?! everyone is saying how dumb a move it was.

they 'really wanted him' and ed wade is fucking stupid.

my team has pick #28 so anything the teams before can do to fuck up and let good players fall Im all about..

astros planning on being irrelevant for 10 years not 5 i guess

ok. but why would they "really want him"??

my brother & i are sitting here waiting for chris sale to get drafted -- he hosted my brother on a recruiting trip & he said he's a cool dude

yeah sale is falling hard, keith law seems to think he projects as a reliever not a starter and maybe some teams have bought into that too

the J's message board just went apeshit over the J's passing Sale over.

or maybe he's just asking for huge $

yeah -- i've never seen him pitch

drew pomeranz is giving me visions of andrew miller

thanks for talking about every pick in depth except for the J's, MLB. who cares about the reds. seriously!

DECK MCGUIRE

2K Sports renamed some of these people

there he goes

he's skinny!

they keep mentioning that. like dude can't be fed a few extra sandwiches or something.

ESPN CRAWL JUST SUGGESTED THE ASTROS DRAFT DELINO DESHIELDS JR.

SORRY OTHERS HAVE COMMENTED ON THIS ALREADY BUT THAT IS INSANE I AM OLD AND GOING TO DIE SOMEDAY :C

being an astros fan is shitty. drayton is like a cheap al davis.

cubs draft H. Simpson

everyone at the reporters desk was like 'who'

cubs out stupiding houston. nl central lookin strong.

Hayden Simpson is a hard-throwing small-college right-handed starting pitcher from Southern Arkansas. Simpson originally came to Southern Arkansas from Magnolia High School in Magnolia, Arkansas, a small southwestern Arkansas town near the borders of Oklahoma and Texas. He was a fairly unknown prospect coming out of high school due to his smaller frame, and he wasn’t carrying the type of stuff he has today. He went undrafted in the 2007 draft, heading to pitch at Southern Arkansas. After a pair of decent years, he really took a big step forward this spring, showing advanced stuff and pitchability, as well as successful numbers of a good Division 2 team. Scouts think he has the natural stuff to be a number three starter or setup man, but a few scouts can’t get past his size, which is generously listed at six feet. He’s still skinny and short, but he has enough raw stuff to influence a game. His fastball is a plus pitch, sitting 92-94, touching 96, and that’s not just in short bursts. He holds his velocity fairly well throughout games, and he’s able to reach back for something more late in a game. He also throws in an above-average curveball with some good velocity behind it, as well as a fringe-average changeup, so the biggest concern behind his size is his ability to get pro left-handed hitters out, though Simpson has shown enough in college to think he can handle them just fine. He’s expected to be picked in the fourth to seventh round range, where he should be signable for slot or average money

when will america give up on the small physical size thing?

Projectable body, trusts his stuff, goes right after hitters, willingly takes the ball every fifth day, has been calling his own pitches since the age of eight.

xpost

damn was hoping josh sale might fall to redsox

i guess cox still might though !

its just possible he could have been had 2 rounds later

and pitchability

Holy shit -- "pitchability"?

Plays baseball.

angels need someone to take over 3b in light of brandon woods awesome flameout

well they left the best and closest-to-majors 3B on the board

c'mon houston bring the lols

alright! redsox time, zack cox is still available, lets do this

oops guess not

I look fwd to seeing Harper in my early 50s

supposedly cox wants a fortune.. like pedro alvarez money.

6 mil, apparently.

wtf cant Selig pronounce Los Angeles properly

does he use the hard G???

ub I think my team just flushed this pick down the toilet.. dodgers rarely go over slot

i like how he says "Los Angeleez"

like when old people say "Worshington"

makes me smile.

DECK MCGUIRE

2K Sports renamed some of these people

― Andy K, Monday, June 7, 2010 8:11 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

lol was thinking along similar lines http://www.soulstrut.com/images/smileys/killin_it.gif

With their selection in the 28th round, the Texas Rangers select Tug Sabathia.

Oddibe Kendall

beckjason
Chris Mears just announced compensation pick for Red Sox. He shared saves lead on 2003 #tigers ... with 5. #mlbdraft

CITO CULVER!

and the J's take 4 pitchers for some reason.

this was a really pitching-heavy draft, you don't want to reach for a position player if they're not the best signable player available

ya - i knew that going into it. but at a certain point you're going to have to reach down for the sake of diversifying things, no?

i also think it might be an AA thing. one clear thing he's done since taking over is stockpile arms like mad.

i guess they're banking on lind / snider / hill / wallace being a good enough lineup core to carry a run-prevention team

was this live on MLB? I can't watch drafts.

Harper has "wanted to be a #1 pick since I was 7 years old." WTF

"... for the Washington Nationals."

"ya - i knew that going into it. but at a certain point you're going to have to reach down for the sake of diversifying things, no?"

Still twenty-four some-odd rounds to go though.

Supposedly a bunch of cubs fans went nuts last night and tore up their first round picks wikipedia page..

Nats take AJ Cole. Would be really nice if they decide to finally spend that money they had been promising their fans ever since they arrived in DC.

Supposedly a bunch of cubs fans went nuts last night and tore up their first round picks wikipedia page..

― mayor jingleberries, Tuesday, June 8, 2010 1:03 PM (36 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

But no one gives a shit in the outside world about the Cubs, which is why there's no Joycean screencaps to go along with, amirite?

revision history logs.hhtml

A Few Words About Civility At BCB

Alyellontoppscard_tiny by Al Yellon on Jun 7, 2010 7:33 PM PDT in Meta BCB Comment 0 comments

I was disgusted and appalled by the behavior of a few in the comments in the Draft Day thread after the Cubs made the unexpected pick of Hayden Simpson.

You can disagree with the pick; disagree with Tim Wilken’s reasons for picking him; argue about whether the Cubs are being cheap or not.

But when you giggle and guffaw like 12-year-olds over someone defacing Simpson’s Wikipedia page (which I assume has been fixed and I will not repost here), insulting him and his family, that’s where I draw the line.

Real human beings with real feelings are involved. As Josh77 said, families of Cubs minor leaguers, and I presume possible draft picks, read this site. I will not let readers of this site turn it into a festival of rudeness; my 14-year-old son has more maturity than some of you showed in that thread.

Some of you seem to have the attitude, “It’s only the internet, it doesn’t matter.” This place is a place where human beings communicate with each other. It does matter. I don’t ever want to see behavior like this on this site again.

I’m not opening comments on this post. I’d like all of you who participated to think about what you did, sleep on it, and then come back tomorrow ready to discuss things with civility and respect for others, whether they’re other BCB members or people you have never met who are now part of the Cubs family.

lol

poor kid. the knuckle draggers could fuck up the Cubs page?

yasmani grandal just smoked a 2 rbi double off of barret loux

The Detroit Tigers have drafted Pittsburgh native Patrick Leyland.

and out of 3 picks in the 2nd round - the J's take two more pitchers! lol. at least these guys are lefties this time.

Apparently the Dodgers are trying to draft the entire LSU baseball team

Never change, Scott Boras

Bryce Harper wrote on his Facebook page Friday that he's, "Probably going back to [the College of Southern Nevada] to win a National Championship!"

lol

what the hell is the "College of Southern Nevada"?

the junior college he played at this year

seriously - what a little shit! (if it's true)

uh yeah... no way that this guy isn't signing

http://sportsradiointerviews.com/2010/09/22/bryce-harper-washingtons-great-white-hype/#more-26134

hes a yankees, cowboys, lakers fan

hah not surprised. hes a douchey teen after all.

but hes from Vegas right? not many home teams to root for..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwWU5C7-g5s

ha ha - the crowd reaction is something else there!

This guy's going to be nonstop headline gold in the bigs.

when's he coming?

No idea! I guess I should have added "if he doesn't get beaten to death in his sleep first."

lol what a dick

He's actually kinda tanked in AA so it might take a little longer than originally thought. Admittedly he's still only 18 and playing in AA so maybe not that long.

damn dude.. you cant do that shit..

I read this so maybe its some context. Looks like the plate umpre had somewhere to go after the game:

Sixteen of the 18 players who started Wednesday night’s Eastern League game between Richmond and Harrisburg weren’t too happy with the size of home plate umpire Max Guyll’s strike zone.

Body language, stare downs and brief post-strikeout arguments easily revealed as much through the first seven innings at Metro Bank Park.

Starting pitchers Eric Surkamp of the Flying Squirrels and Shairon Martis of the Senators, though, likely weren’t complaining about the generous zone. Both were absolutely terrific in a game ultimately won 3-1 by Richmond on a ninth-inning home run, and the duo shared 19 strikeouts.

Isn't Shairon the Dutch dude who threw the no hitter in the Baseball Classic?

Yeah, from Curacao.

RIP

what happen

was helped off the field w/ a leg injury, but apparently it's not that serious

out for the season (which is only two more weeks anyway) with a hammy

.318/.423/.554 with 14 homers in 72 low-a games
.256/.329/.395 with 3 homers in 37 double-a games

turns 19 in two months

Sent to AAA following a golden sombrero today, but there's this:

http://www.gq.com/sports/guides/201204/bryce-harper-mlb-baseball-preview

Now that Harper's the one hurt, he takes a hop-step out of the box. Again: "Fuuuuuuck!!!" A violent toss of his custom-made Marucci bat—inscribed with LUKE 1:37 ("For with God nothing shall be impossible")—across the batting cage. "Fuck it, I'm done." Harper shakes his hands vigorously and shoves them into a pile of infield dirt adjacent to the cage. "I didn't know I was hitting today, and I don't have my goddamned gloves," he says. "It hurts like a dick."

never have i wanted someone to marinovich so badly

Being a spoiled little shit is relatively low on the list of sports sins - I'll wait to hate him until he kills dogs or rapes someone or pays someone in his posse to shoot a dude.

one needn't be a criminal to be an asshole

anyway, he doesn't play for my team, so it doesn't take much

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1ik8ifvaA1qzniimo1_500.png

mike francesa just said re: harper "now some ppl think this kid is the next babe ruth"

@AdamRubinESPN
Bryce HARPER strikes out looking in second encounter with Matt Harvey at Syracuse. HARPER hitting .228 in AAA this season so far.

first homer of the year today

in majors on saturday

Goddamit, I'm winning the league where I have him in the minors. I don't want to have to call him up.

rain deprived us of a kershaw/strasburg showdown today, but harper debut tomorrow is cool too

with a .708 OPS in AAA?!

He's bored

ha ha!

AAA stats for 3 weeks mean nothing, i'd say. plus they may have no better options, yes?

I guess since he can't be a Super 2 (because of his contract? read that somewhere) they have nothing to lose by bringing him up for a trial at least.

that ball was hit hard

Probably not the first to notice a resemblance to Jason Mewes...

liked him tossing off the helmet before he pulled into second on the double

Dave Fleming:

"...what are the odds that Harper turns out to be the villain of the current generation, in the same way that A-Rod and Bonds played the villain role in the last era. The same way that Ted Williams was. Ty Cobb.

I’d put the odds at better than 50%.

That’s just a hunch, of course...Bryce Harper might be the sweetest guy in the world. But it sure seems that every time I hear about Harper, it’s because he’s done something mildly dislikeable. There was that time he was ejected from the 2010 Junior College World Series, for drawing a line in the sand so that the ump knew where he missed. There was the famous incident where he blew a kiss to a pitcher after hitting a homerun. He’s been tossed from minor league games for bitching about called strikes...he just seems to do a lot to draw negative attention to himself. Which leads me to...

I think that Harper should just embrace the villain role. He should go full-on with it. He should come in tomorrow and tell Matt Kemp, ‘Wait ‘til you see Harper hit.’ He should taunt the second-place Braves on Twitter. He can pile on fines from the Commish’s office for criticizing umps. Just be the asshole, Bryce...embrace your inner bad guy. It’d be great fun for baseball."

i would loooove that

not sure how davey johnson feels about that

last night vin informed me that harper is a mormon???? not a terribly devout one, it would seem

well let's hope that harper isn't a virulent racist who purposefully spikes black players

http://www.holyfetch.com/sports/bryce_harper.html

wonder when he'll go on his mission

If he ever comes up with a line as brilliant as Reggie's "The only reason I don't like playing in the World Series is I can't watch myself play," I'll be his biggest fan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ53Q0At6FM

http://www.holyfetch.com/sports/bryce_harper.html

"Look for this athlete to begin getting more and more headlines and becoming a very famous Mormon."

yeah i'm hoping he doesn't flame out for the very reason that he might fully embrace the villain role. a 19 year old kid trolling other teams on the field, in the media, and on twitter would be pretty special.

exactly, baseball has enough "good guys"

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/6977167718_b5001aae9e_o.gif

dude has a fucking LASER

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=21073869&topic_id=&c_id=mlb&tcid=vpp_copy_21073869&v=3

he hit the snot outta that double, I don't think anyone's gonna regret the callup.

lol @ harper missing 1st base and called out on appeal

http://i.imgur.com/DOtEt.jpg

all the pieces are coming together

lol at that #04 in the background in the gif a few posts above. everyone was probably like 'did you see harper's double? you're so lucky you got to be there to see it!' and he's like 'uh...yeah...uh"

they were doing the wave, actually

fuckin californians amirite

Bryce's dad is scary.

hbp, goes 1st to 3rd on a hit to lf, scores on a pickoff attempt to 1st

technically he stole home

on espn

kid knows how to market himself

soon we will all have that haircut

After his suspension, would love to see Hamels suffer a career-ending injury:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7899287/philadelphia-phillies-cole-hamels-plunks-bryce-harper-admits-aiming-him

Maybe one of Hamels' future opponents will "continue the old baseball" with a spikes-high slide into home on a passed ball or wild pitch.

If you're going to be honest, why not just come out and say "I hit him because I think he's a prick"? "I hit him because the umpires aren't calling the game unfairly for him" makes so little sense

man, Bryce Harper's dad is going to kick Cole Hamels' ass

Harper brushed off Hamels' comments on the purpose pitch.

"Hamels threw a great game tonight," he said.

pretty mature response tbh

This might be a close second in dumbassedness to Hamel's postseason "can't wait for it to end" comment

bryce harper is a lil punk http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9627011/photos/userArmsCrossed.gif

http://i.imgur.com/DOtEt.jpg

WHAT DID YOU SAY DAYO

my dad can beat up your dad

holy shit, I love this family

wait, he wears stirrups? that's pretty awesome

if I were a baseball player I would totally wear stirrups

Cole Hamels is a tall preppy punk c**t

really hoping that Harper, despite the magic underwear and teenage antics, turns out to be a decent dude (which seems like it might be true thus far)
he's a generational talent, it would be nice to want to root or him

yeah most of the stories about him being a dick are ones where people needlessly provoke him, it's like he's a once-in-a-generation talent who's cruising to the majors and he's only a freakin teenager, what do you expect

Harper brushed off Hamels' comments on the purpose pitch.

"Hamels threw a great game tonight," he said.

pretty mature response tbh

― Mad God 40/40 (Z S), Monday, May 7, 2012 9:25 AM (2 hours ago)

zzzzzzz

already fucking up this villian routine eh

villain

there's no WWE in MLB

Harper brushed off Hamels' comments on the purpose pitch.

"Hamels threw a great game tonight," "I guarantee that the next pitch that Hamels throws to me near the strikezone will be a homerun. In fact, I'm willing to bet my 2012 salary on that", he said.

There we go

In that situation, I don't think I could have resisted taunting Hamels after stealing home.

he might've not have been convinced at the time that hamels hit him on purpose

maybe the Nats have a good prospect diplomacy teacher.

that steal of home was amazing though

a 19 year old kid has the balls to do that?

that answer was straight out of the lebron school of diplomacy

eh everyone sounds like that these days, they're all coached to say bloodless bullshit like that

it would be more entertaining for the public if a 19-year old was already involved in a headline beef within a week of being called up, but probably not a good idea in terms of him actually being able to concentrate on baseball.

stretching out his eighth or ninth inning bloop into a double had shades of charlie hustle

would pete rose intentionally knock off his helmet, y/n?

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m384kxrmfG1r9kk3io3_250.gif

Head first

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R8fvYZBQxzg/S2HrdJsi3cI/AAAAAAAAAaw/u9Sq2M3V5dU/s400/Pete+Rose.jpg

well neither have/had grownuop haircuts; thing is, Pete still had his at 50

why is cole hamels trying to make me like bryce harper

still really hard for me to root for someone named bryce

aaaand Hamels suspended for five.

this guy doesn't know what the Gatorade machine is for

The only downside was an ill-advised swing by their frustrated 19-year-old outfielder. Bryce Harper had a rough night, going 0 for 5 with three strikeouts. After one of the outs, he returned to the dugout and took a frustrated whack at one of the walls in the tunnel to the clubhouse.

Johnson said the barrel of the bat bounced off the wall and hit Harper next to the left eye, causing a gash that, according to the Washington Times, required 10 stitches to close and a welt. He stayed in the game with it bandaged, but was sent for treatment afterward because it was bleeding.

lol, hope this guy stays in the majors forever

Mark DeRosa’s progress returning from a strained left oblique muscle was stunted in an odd way, [manager Davey] Johnson said. As Bryce Harper came into the dugout Sunday night after he stole home against the Phillies, DeRosa aggravated his oblique when Harper gave him a forceful high-five.

"I don’t know if that set back the rehab or not," Johnson said. "But I said, ‘Why didn’t use your right hand?’ He said it was spur of the moment."

Christian Yelich‏@ChristianYelich

Hopefully Bryce Harper's bat doesn't admit that it hit him on purpose and get suspended that would be unfortunate

tater #1 off Tim Stauffer

#2

eyeblack is in effect

Hamels took 5 extra pitches to put him on first tonight

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/bryce-harper-is-making-history/

I knew Mel Ott would figure prominently in that story.

but Oyster Burns and Buttercup Dickerson!

Lindbergh has a premium article at BP about how Harper is seeing fewer fastballs than ANY hitter in the majors, and has learned to hit curveballs in 6 weeks.

‏

@davidortiz
That kid bryce Harper is the real deal....god bless him.....34

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=22221483&topic_id=&c_id=mlb&tcid=vpp_copy_22221483&v=3

be bold

wau he creamed that

Tonight brings his batting average for the year up to .307, he's 15 for 37 in June so far.

he is for real

meanwhile i have a west coast correspondent wondering aloud whether mike trout is the best player in the game.

i don't know whether to cry or wind my watch

Trout is amazing tbh

Yeah these guys are incredible. Feel a little bad for Trout. Under normal circumstances people would be talking about his season constantly, but with Harper doing this @ 19 (and being Harper) it almost feels like Trout's amazingness is being under-hyped.

totally OTM, but Harper is hitting .307/.390/.553 which is like, Ryan Braun/Joey Votto type numbers. I'm guessing he'll regress this year but I really don't feel like anything's out of the realm of possibility by the time he turns 23 (in 2016!!!)

that said, Trout is hitting even better this year (.345/.406/.552) and I think Trout vs. Harper is a legitimate debate. But what Harper's doing at 19 is pretty much unprecedented and he has all the hype behind him so of course he's the more interesting story.

(unrelated note: Stephen Strasburg is hitting .350/.381/.650, making him 7th on his team in batting WAR even though he's only gotten 21 plate appearances)

harper is def getting more mainstream press but stathead/roto/sabr ppl are prob being more over the moon re: trout right now

well yeah the nats offense is garbage, no idea how they're winning games with the morse-desmond-espinosa-ankiel gauntlet of doom in the back half of the lineup

trout also is an incredibly good base stealer and plays premium defense in CF. harper has the flashy power but if trout keeps hitting decently he's going to be the one at the top of the WAR charts

"That's a clown question, bro."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzbhjzsyvGk

Nats pitching has still been incredible

he *should* have a beer.

Thread title reminds me that Harper used to be a catcher. Seems like the transition from catcher to CF is kinda rare but maybe more frequent amongst 18 year olds..

I forget, what was the impetus for his transition away from catcher? Just to reduce the chances of his knees exploding when he's 28 or something?

yeah lower injury risk plus it gets his bat in the lineup 160 games instead of 120 or whatever

he's a RF not a CF. it's not that rare to go from catcher to corner position

did Dale Murphy go from C to CF then a corner?

i think... did Werth start of as a C?

"I forget, what was the impetus for his transition away from catcher? Just to reduce the chances of his knees exploding when he's 28 or something?"

General consensus was that it would take Harper a lot longer to get to the majors if he stayed at catcher and it was entirely possible that he wouldn't have been able to stay at the position anyways plus the injury risk and the fact that the bat would play anywhere is why the Nats immediately moved him to the outfield.

for injury risk, Nats catcher is like Spinal Tap drummer

Trout is getting a fair amount of attention. Sports Illustrated had a piece (online only, maybe) arguing for his superiority so far over Harper, and, on a smaller scale, so did SweetSpot.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/web/COM1199527/index.htm
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/25469/mike-trout-greatest-20-year-old-ever

The SweetSpot piece actually doesn't mention Harper.

Here is the list of players since 1871 who had 400 or more plate appearances and an OPS+ above 145 in their age 20 season or earlier:

??? it's not showing the list of players for me

Rank Player OPS+
1 Ty Cobb 167
2 Mel Ott 165
3 Al Kaline 162
4 Mickey Mantle 162
5 Alex Rodriguez 161
6 Ted Williams 160
7 Rogers Hornsby 150
8 Jimmie Foxx 148

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/cliff_corcoran/06/06/mike.trout.angels/index.html#ixzz1xhphYERA

I want to discount all the 'Harper's doing it at 19, Trout is 20!' but I guess maybe that year does make a legit difference when you look at others' performance at 19 vs 20 (like A-Rod).

That list really is amazing. No borderlines, no Hall of the Very Goods, etc. Kaline's the worst ("worst") player on there...

yeah...

"I want to discount all the 'Harper's doing it at 19, Trout is 20!' but I guess maybe that year does make a legit difference when you look at others' performance at 19 vs 20 (like A-Rod)."

Okay maybe you can discount the age thing, but you can't entirely discount the fact that last year Trout was 19 and completely struggling at the MLB level in ~130 plate appearances. A guy coming in at 19 years old and completely dominating in his first contact with MLB pitching is basically once a generation talent+.

http://dailycaller.com/2012/06/15/bryce-harper-conservative-hero/

Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan Watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to an economic speech by Paul Ryan: It’s long on reality and short on excuses. Harper has slapped baseball awake, and every time he steps up to the plate, years of crusty baseball routine no longer apply. He swings the bat with a blinding snap of force, and in the outfield dives for balls that bored veterans would let go. When he hits a double he usually tries to stretch it into a triple. Manager Davey Johnson tries to bench him for being hurt, and Harper confronts him and says, like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare like a person with enough dignity to refuse welfare: Let me work.

since that has literally nothing to do with baseball (even if it was written by Joe Judge's grandson), can you put crap like it in one of the hundred or so "conservative zoo animal" threads in the future?

it's really funny, how you just c/p some phrases over and over

plz, I replaced cable with mlb.tv in an election year for a reason.

oh man, burned by frogbs

what else could go wrong

since that has literally nothing to do with baseball

actually, it concerns professional baseball player Bryce Harper, surprised you missed that part

watching Bryce Harper play is like listening to Dr Morbius complain

in other Bryce Harper news I am v happy to have scored tickets to tonight's game, going with my dad as an early father's day present!

5ks

no poly, some asshole just decided to use Bryce Harper as a Trojan Horse for some Klanspew.

Whereas Luke Scott just does it all on his own.

yesss

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/harry-reid-uses-thats-a-clown-question-bro/2012/06/19/gJQAdEeSoV_blog.html

i have been waiting for a bro to ask me a clown question but it hasn't happened yet!! :(

How to Get Him Out Every Time

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=17384

@AdamKilgoreWP
TV guy: "What's on your iPod?" Harper: "What do you like to listen to?" TV guy: "I like Vampire Weekend." Harper: "That's weird." Gold.

all-star quote machine

Gotta say, I'm starting to think this isn't the worst guy in baseball.

Yeah, I like him.

I still hate him

Harper just, uh, clowned Kevin Millar. On Millar's highlights: "That's TERRIBLE. Is he like 46?"

http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1118339/HARPER-POPUP.gif

how can you hate this kid

bryce harper looks like me playing softball

Bryce Harper took a moment during the all-star festivities to make fun of Kevin Millar’s hair during a segment with MLB.com.

“Especially Millar with those highlights,” Harper joked about Millar’s blonde tips. “That’s terrible. Isn’t he, like, 46?”

Yes, I know Harper is the same guy who rocked a mullet and ended up on a “hair don’t” list. But if you’re 19 and named Bryce Harper, unwritten hair rules don’t apply to you.

Harper also managed to get a shot in at Sean Casey at the end of the interview.

“Sean Casey needs to get on some P90X instead of P45.”

Boom, roasted.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/bryce-harper-makes-fun-of-kevin-millars-hair/2012/07/12/gJQApUFQfW_blog.html

Stay tuned after the game to find out why Ozzie Guillen thinks Bryce is a "fucking piece of shit."

game recognize game

This kid is pissing off all the right ppl

what it was, was pine tar

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/ozzie-guillen-calls-bryce-harper-unprofessional-after-pine-tar-spat/2012/07/15/gJQAFKT2mW_blog.html

Nice gif of Ozz here

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/7/16/3162632/bryce-harper-ozzie-guillen-pine-tar-argument

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1239987/ozzie-lol-wat.gif

someone translate

"he went like this," he said, gurning, "something something..."

Fouled a ball hard off his own left ankle trying to bunt, came out of the game at the start of the 3rd.

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1269418/rollins.gif

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/8/9/3230460/bryce-harper-washington-nationals-angel-hernandez-is-seriously-the-worst

.248/.324/.401

ROY

i figured he'd have to cool down at some point this year though, god-like talent or not. he's going to be great someday, though, and soon.

^novel analysis

Has a 19-year-old ever scored 100 runs? Harper scored one tonight, so he'd need six more in the Nationals' six remaining games. (Ott, Mantle, and Griffey didn't.)

Buddy Lewis had 100 runs for the Senators in 1936, turning 20 in August of that year. Harper may or may not get to 100 runs but he's on pace for 114 runs if he'd played the full season instead of starting in late April.

I vaguely recognize the name...Best thing in the world for Harper this year has been Trout. When Harper was slumping during the summer, all the media focus had shifted to Trout. Between Washington's surprise season and the messy Strasburg situation, I'm sure a spotlight would have normally been squarely on Harper in the middle of all that; as is, his own troubles got barely any attention that I noticed. (Maybe a different story locally.) So he played through that, and now he's having his best month yet.

Thought there'd be mention of Fred Lynn somewhere in this, but no:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/news/20130521/bryce-harper/?sct=hp_t13_a6&eref=sihp

supposedly bryce harper bunted twice yesterday. TWICE.

Soriano has talked to BH since, but...

"It may not have been a catch-able ball, but if we're positioned the right way, there might have been a different outcome. With two outs, I could tell my four-year-old son, 'You know where you need to play,' and he would go to the right spot to make the play. It's not an excuse, and I'm not speaking badly about anybody, but I think that's how you play the game.''

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/5/22/4355532/rafael-soriano-bryce-harper-nationals-giants-walk-off

bursitis

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9315401/bryce-harper-washington-nationals-not-lineup-due-sore-knee

my bf just sent me a text reading "spending the day trolling bryce harper"

v proud of him atm

how so if i may ask

a Mets blog: "In an attempt to minimize their offensive potential, new Nationals manager Matt Williams said that he will likely bat Bryce Harper fifth this season."

http://news.rotowire.com/Bryce-Harper-googid471017-spmlb.htm

players be hatin'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/03/24/mlb-players-vote-bryce-harper-most-overrated/

ejected today

by a crew featuring cb bucknor and angel hernandez

btw I don't think i mentioned i saw him make a game-saving 9th-inning play in KC last August. He has rig.

@OGTedBerg
I asked Bryce Harper his favorite player to watch. He smiled: "I love Yasiel Puig."

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/63817564/v31953173/miawsh-harpers-homer-reviewed-call-stands-in-4th/?query=Bryce%2BHarper%2Bhome%2Brun

from a couple weeks ago, but holy moly

to DL, sprained thumb

I'm kind of LOLing at what must be going through his head these days -- "When I ease up they bench me... when I play as hard as they want me to, I get hurt. What the fuck am I supposed to do?" He's a great physical talent with meatballs for mind grapes, so I doubt his thought processes are any more complicated than that.

"Expected out until July"

torn ulnar collateral ligament, surgery

hair holding up

https://twitter.com/Bharper3407/status/461222853652664320/photo/1

Keith Law excerpt:

"Of course, after Harper's injury, Williams was quick to point out that Harper "plays the game hard." But that was always the case; it's just that Harper also plays it smart, and doesn't waste time with false hustle -- probably because false hustle has yet to win any team a ballgame. The entire incident has highlighted that the Nationals organization made a mistake in hiring a manager with zero experience in Williams, who spent the first few weeks of the season trying to figure out how far down in the lineup he could bury Harper.

The Nationals took a calculated risk in 2010 when they chose to move Harper, who played catcher as an amateur, out from behind the plate immediately after signing him, removing him from the middle of the field and from a position he'd played since childhood -- and a position he played well. Although catcher is normally a more injury-prone position than the outfield, Harper's unfamiliarity with the outfield and with playing on a corner could have been a factor in several of his injuries in pro ball, including his collision with the outfield wall in Los Angeles last April.

The move to right field may have gotten Harper to the majors faster, but it put him at a position with a much higher baseline (replacement-level) against which we measure his performance, meaning that the Nationals may have left a lot of value on the table by shifting him to the outfield. It's probably too late to return Harper to catching -- although I don't doubt that Harper could do it, as he still has the athleticism and the arm -- so why are the Nationals so willing to further devalue the guy who should be the franchise player by claiming he doesn't hustle and perhaps driving him to overdo it in response?"

in probably his final rehab game at AA Harrisburg tonight, Harper went 4 for 5 with 3 home runs

Hasn't been good at all, lately.

He has been struggling a lot, lately.

-0.1 WAR

better now

yes! hopefully that'll get his confidence back!

4 post season HR before age 22, tied record.

with?

the broadcast didn't say!

Mantle, Cabrera, Andruw

Mantle's were in the WORLD SERIES, of course, and i hate mixing endless TOURNAMENT baseball records with WORLD SERIES ONLY baseball.

ya... every game seems to bring a new "playoff record or achievement of note" and every time i hear one, the morbs voice in my head jumps to his feet and shouts "that is dumb!"

Harper would be on his way to being the New Face (or Hair) of Baseball if only his teammates had produced and/or were not robbed blind by ball/strike calls.

i think that was one lousy call last night... takes a team to lose three games.

and a manager who calls on AARON BARRETT at the moment of truth.

should have called on PUIG! (seriously he can't be worse than Mattingly)

just read the article on Williams posted on the Ginats vs Nats thread. so he might actually be worse than Mattingly.

factoid from BP annual: Harper has never faced a pitcher younger than himself in the pros.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CERQXE9WYAArZtd.jpg

three homers today, still in the fifth

http://m.mlb.com/video/v103656883/miawsh-harper-smashes-his-third-homer-of-the-game

Bombs, too

I suspect we can confirm the Arrival of Bryce the Beast.

mook & i saw him take a scary swing (flyout) on 3-0 on Sunday.

@MLB_PR
WSH OF Bryce Harper named NL Player of the Week after hitting .455 with 6 HR, 13 RBI, a 1.318 SLG percentage and 29 total bases last week.

solid week

.336/.475/.750

popped it up the other way . . . and then it went out

sure the wind's blowing out but it's a 1-1 game in the 7th

https://vine.co/v/ebqjr5hEIQX

hottest hot streak since 1950?

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-bryce-harper-historic-hot-streak/

pissed that the runner ahead of him on his double didn't score, BH got marooned short of third and just stood still and got tagged out. #controversy

just faced a pitcher younger than him for the first time (jacob lindgren), flew out to left

Harper has a WAR of 5.3 through 65 team games. That projects to 13.2 for a full season, which would be less than Ruth's 14.1 in 1923 (first on the position-player list), but more than Ruth's 12.9 in 1921 (second). Won't happen, but just getting this far into the season at that level is worth making note of.

Good timing on that update.

"Be as sexy as you can in the box."

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/bodybryceharper/washington-nationals-outfielder-bryce-harper-unbuttoned-espn-magazine-body-issue

https://usatthebiglead.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/harper-mag.jpg?w=300&h=369

@Todd_Dybas
My favorite Bryce Harper Looney Tunes stat: When he swings in a 1-0 count, he’s hitting .703 (26-for-37), w/7 HRs, 7 2Bs and a 2.151 OPS.

man imagine if he was putting these numbers up as a catcher

@AndrewSimonMLB
Bryce Harper comes into tonight riding his 1st three-game hitless streak of the year. His OBP over those three games is .538.

lmao

https://instagram.com/p/8WWqhTgIZa/

23 years old today

http://i.imgur.com/XoCnlMF.png

MY EYES
HIS EYES
EVERYBODY'S EYES

that's a clown tweet, bro

https://vine.co/v/iujFXdbUbHU

meh-meh???

In Game 4 of the 2014 division series against the Giants, he stood on deck in the seventh inning with the (Giants leading 2-1. A fan in the sunken seats about 10 feet away, holding a glass of red wine, berated Harper with an intensity that couldn't be ignored.

"Hey, buddy," Harper said. "How's that glass of wine?"

Harper remembers that the fan sputtered before saying, "You're going to strike out."

"You know I love playing here, don't you, buddy?"

Seconds later, Harper drove a fastball into San Francisco Bay. As he touched home plate and turned for the dugout, Harper fixed his eyes on the fan, holding his stare a step or two longer than necessary.

"He was just devastated about life," Harper says.

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/14935765/washington-nationals-bryce-harper-wants-change-baseball-forever

doesn't get better than trashing a premium Giants fan, at least in NL

lol, well done

Harper 100% otm with pretty much all of this, great article

goose tho
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14943065/goose-gossage-rips-jose-bautista-toronto-blue-jays-nerds-ruining-baseball

what a potty mouth

that part aint new

"He was just devastated about life," Harper says, "not because of the home run really, but more because he had just kinda realized how empty his existence was. I think his work-home balance was off. His relationship with his kids was bad. His daughter had just graduated from Sarah Lawrence and I think he's worried she's about the direction she's taking with her life and he's not a fan of her current boyfriend either. I got a real sense of just how lonely he was in those seconds when I stared unblinkingly into his eyes. Also I think he was realizing that his glass of Pinor Noir was pretty shitty. I prefer Zins myself."

Bryce Harper is deep.

i knew it was a hoax when you said bryce harper drinks alcohol

get off his dick

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb-news/4701228-bryce-harper-home-run-walkup-song-jcole-gmod

100

and now tied with derek jeter in career grand slams

When Harper came up with the bases loaded I said "oh here it comes."

Way early, but up in Bonds-world right now.

.359/.458/.897, 250 OPS+.

4 Ks in 52 PAs

Grand slam tonight.

NL Player of the Month

good choice

(tho not w/out other options)

walked 6x and hit by a pitch today; first modern player to reach 7x in a game w/out an AB. (i think i have that right)

Cubs are no dummies

::placeholder post for "HEY FUCK YOU" gif::

http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/bryce-harper-to-ump-who-ejected-him-fuck-you-1775674433

Lol that ump knew it was coming

@beckjason
Michael Fulmer is just the 3rd MLB pitcher younger than Bryce Harper to face him, joining Aaron Nola and Jacob Lindgren.

clown tweet bro

@AlexPutterman
Dusty Baker on Bryce Harper: "I like him as a young man. Now, will I have to spank him sometime? Maybe. I like my son, too."

one-game suspension!

worth it

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CmzdHYgWEAAUfLM.jpg:small

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/man-amongst-boys-the-oral-history-of-bryce-harpers-record-setting-junior-college-season

oral history of his juco year

yeah sale is falling hard, keith law seems to think he projects as a reliever not a starter and maybe some teams have bought into that too

― ciderpress, Monday, June 7, 2010 8:06 PM (6 years ago)

lol btw

good read xp

meanwhile i have a west coast correspondent wondering aloud whether mike trout is the best player in the game.

i don't know whether to cry or wind my watch

― mookieproof, Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:41 PM (4 years ago)

also!

hah -- my west coast correspondent and i were discussing how much longer trout needs to play to become a hall of famer

i said possibly just the rest of this season

yeah i said basically the same thing in the HOF thread a few weeks ago, and morbs reminded me that there is a 10-year service requirement

he's hitting .235/.380/.443 now, yikes

Didn't see your post till right now, but I was looking at his stats this morning and was actually going to post something similar. If, based on last year, he was indeed pointing in the direction of an all-timer on the order of Aaron and such--or at least Griffey-level--has there ever been a player of that caliber have such a poor year heading into his prime? Nothing's coming to mind, I'd have to start checking.

not quite that caliber of player, but iirc cano had a truly awful year pretty early into his prime and rebounded pretty well

yeah ok i just checked that cano season and that was definitely before he'd established himself as a superstar

that's far from a bad line in the year 2016, that's more of a 'no one's giving him pitches to hit' line

that said, harper's still drawn a ton of walks and provides good value in the field. he's still going to end up a 4-5 win player this year -- not bad a for a down year

that's far from a bad line in the year 2016, that's more of a 'no one's giving him pitches to hit' line

― ciderpress, Tuesday, August 2, 2016 12:37 PM (1 minute ago

he's batting .235 man, for a 115 wRC+. it's pretty bad for a hitter of his level

couldn't sleep last night, so i also went back and re-read the harper vs trout thread. a couple of people were ready to hand harper the crown after last season -- likewise i think it's premature to write him off now, but it's hard to see him having a better career than trout at this point

(just going to keep posting instead of studying)

ESPN recently ran a poll of its experts ranking the best players in baseball history. harper came in at #85 or so, which i thought was a little high. trout was #40, which...honestly might be a little low

Harper's year was so phenomenal last year that I think the assumption for me and many others was that, even when you factor in the inevitable leveling off, he and Trout would still be at a comparable level for the next few years--Trout better some years, Harper better others. I don't think anyone expected this.

his strikeout rate isn't up so it's more likely just a long BABIP slump than a change in skill/ability

his hard-hit rate is way down -- at 32% from 41%. his numbers are down across the board, it's definitely a real slump, not just some fluke. i'm sure he'll get back to his usual self tho

Harper's year was so phenomenal last year that I think the assumption for me and many others was that, even when you factor in the inevitable leveling off, he and Trout would still be at a comparable level for the next few years--Trout better some years, Harper better others. I don't think anyone expected this.

― clemenza, Tuesday, August 2, 2016 12:46 PM (15 minutes ago)

trout's gonna end up like mays, only winning a couple of MVPs when he easily could have about ten

his incredible 2015 aside bryce harper is more jason heyward than willie mays

Mays, career:             .302/.384/.557
Heyward, career:          .264/.349/.420
Harper, career - 2015:    .264/.358/.461

Not bad!

James's thoughts on Harper (second question down, before it disappears behind the paywall):

http://www.billjamesonline.com/hey_bill/#51013

(Even if you think sabermetrics has passed James by--I don't, but I think some of you do--one thing he's always good on is historical precedent.)

yeah, cash looks like a pretty great parallel. i would bet a lot of money that harper's career is gonna end up a lot better than his, though

Better, I'd agree, but once you adjust for era, Cash was actually really good. His career OPS+ of 139 would put him in a tie for 10th on the active list, behind only Trout, Pujols, Votto, Cabrera, Goldschmidt, Stanton, Braun, Ortiz, and A-Rod (Harper stands at 139 too, in fewer PA).

538 piece:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-bryce-harper-has-gone-from-great-to-good/

I don't think I'll ever find exit velocity particularly interesting.

It's funny that everyone's trying to figure out how a batter with a .305 True Average this year got so 'bad' (which would be his 2nd best season, to last year's .386).

BP podcast discussion with the author of the 538 piece and the Fangraphs one linked here:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=30049

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-thing-about-bryce-harpers-2015/

0-3 with 3 Ks tonight. average down to .233

they took him out of the game?

didn't watch but yeah it looks like they did

well now

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/bryce-harper-mashes-longest-home-run-of-his-career-against-rockies-081716

on the mets broadcast the other day keith told a story abt going hiking in Arizona and by happenstance running into david segui. I guess segui had previously worked w Bryce as a hitting coach, but Bryce chose not to work w him this past offseason or yr or w/e and segui was like yeah and look now hes only hitting .230

batting average idiots

James has a piece up about Harper and fluke seasons--behind the paywall, though.

"Bryce Harper's 2015 season, if he never again has an outstanding season, would indeed qualify as the greatest fluke season of all time. However, for reasons I'll explain later, I think that's pretty unlikely. It is much more likely that he will have more great seasons coming up."

He doesn't include active players in his research, but he does say that "Ellsbury's (2011) season is now a very strong candidate to be described as the greatest fluke season in baseball history."

$21.6 M for next year, so no arb.

And he just won the game w/ a 2-run HR vs the Philths.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19375559/bryce-harper-agrees-21625-million-deal-washington-nationals-2018-season

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/bryce-harper-has-a-new-lower-gear/

Was watching that game for Scherzer and thought both HR, the second especially, were odd.

lol at 'bryce harper is four months younger than aaron judge'

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DEYgFqvW0AApA-U.jpg

i don't know about that look bryce

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--TR03EHcf--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/etbij8bgntxw8xqbf9ja.gif

Same stylist as Joe Scarborough.

http://phildellio.tripod.com/bryce.jpg

http://www.mlb.com/images/1/0/6/241806106/071117_mlb_all_star_game_yadi_hair_flip_mid_002_yzgo43yk.gif

Harper was closer to a cycle tonight than the boxscore shows--HR, 3B, single, and another single where he was just thrown out trying for second (not in order--the almost-double was his second AB).

He and his wife have a food blog:

https://www.instagram.com/harp.eats/

If he has any sense of humour, there will be an upcoming trout post.

Bryce Harper turns 25 today.

Every single player better thru age 24 (born after 1900, who is eligible) is in HOF.https://t.co/1S0JfWLNYj

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) October 16, 2017

Sharp:
Tom Boswell thinks that this offseason's FA pricing means that Harper will be lucky to get 7/250 next year. How wrong is he, and why?

Jay Jaffe:
I think Harper can get into the $300 million range with a longer deal than that, but for as much as I love the kid's game, I'm also among those who believe that he has to put together a 2015-like season — healthy and dominant for 150sh games — to get there. Put that MVP season aside and he's averaged 3.6 WAR in his other years (it's better than that if you prorate, obvs), which is nice but hardly transcendent.

Here are the 10 lowest babip for a wrc+ 140 and + since 1913 (beginning of babip).

Maris, 1961, wrc+ 162 and babip of .209 !!!
McGwire, 1990, wrc+143 and babip of .243.
Bautista, 2010, wrc+ 163, and babip of .233.
Aaron, 1972, wrc+ 148 and babip of. 248.
Kiner, 1948, wrc+ 143 and babip of .236
Bautista, 2015, wrc+ 148 and babip of .237.
Killebrew, 1963, wrc+ 146 and babip of .237.

Then between the .240 and .250 range

Kiner, 1950, wrc+ 152 and babip of .242.
Thornton, 1978, wrc+ 150 and babip of .243.
Killebrew, 1969, wrc+ 173 and babip of .244

So far this season, Harper is at wrc+142 and babip of .192 (career .316). Even with some (possible) regression to the mean, he might join that bizarre and specific club. The thing is that all these aforementioned players had low career babip and not Harper.

Also, Maris' 1961 is just insane.

i've never really thought about it, but i guess that kind of high production / low babip is the trademark of a slugger that's hitting tons of towering fly balls, right? either they land over the fence for a HR, boosting their production but not increasing the babip since they don't count as "in play", or it's likely just a loud out. so it makes sense to see the other guys on that list.

harper's a different story, though. as you mentioned his career babip is .316, and his FB/GB/LD percentages are all around the same place as last year. he's pulling the ball a lot more? weird baseball luck?

OT, sorry, but is there a BABIP-like stat that includes HRs as well?

Yeah the list makes sense, these are the extremes of that trademark and it's fun to identify them but really what I wonder if Harper could become that type as he ages. Basically, he went from .369 to .264 back to .356. to the horror show he is in now. None of these players ever see-sawed the way Harper did, it might that no played ever did.

I think also walks/pitch selection might account in those numbers. For example, Kiner managed to be 16th in OBP that 1948 season, Bautista was 22nd and 11th respectively. Harper right now is at 18th.

Of course, Hank Aaron doesn't really belong to that group and in his case it's more about aging but having a great season than career long method of batting. 1972 he was 38, and over his final 5 seasons he was hovering around a babip of .240.

https://i.imgur.com/mcjYk30.png

We polled hundreds of players across MLB on a variety of subjects. Nearly half of them, granted anonymity, said Bryce Harper is the most overrated player in the game. https://t.co/DGgZt6h3EE

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) July 16, 2018

i wonder how many future teammates said so

6. Who is the most overrated player in the game?

Top result: Bryce Harper (48.6%)

Runners-up: Chris Davis (10.8%)

Also receiving multiple votes: Javier Báez

Notes: Even anonymously, just over half of the players we polled declined to answer this one — “It’s bad karma,” one said — but among those who did, this was a landslide. As one player told us, it’s not that Harper isn’t talented: “It’s more like guys are kind of tired of him being put up on this pedestal when from a consistency standpoint, he hasn’t sustained it.”

On Báez, one player said, “To a baseball player, a lot of the shit he does is really risky and stupid. When you play against him, you fucking hate watching him. But as a fan, I would want to watch him every single day. I get it.”

I can't think of anybody else you'd choose. When he's great, he's amazing. He spends a lot of time not being great. Eliminate 2015, and he's more like a underrated player whose walks and HRs add value to an otherwise average batting line.

yeah just those piddling walks and HRs

Excellent translation; that's exactly what I meant.

the point is those categories make up most of a valuable batting line.

(sure Harper's BA is bad this year, but if it was even .250 he'd be one of the 10 most valuable players in the NL)

And if he were hitting .250 and were the 10th most valuable player in the NL, that would probably make him the most overrated player in baseball in the context of how many people treat him as one of the two best (which I've done myself at times).

But he's hitting .214, so that's all speculation.

bref has him at 0.0 WAR this year; fangraphs at 1.5

they both hate his defense

didn't factor in the Will to Win

Harper's had the one HOF season and the other HOF 2/3 season. as far as the rest of the time, there's no shame in being near-peak Mickey Tettleton.

Which was exactly my point: "more like a underrated player whose walks and HRs add value to an otherwise average batting line"--i.e., Mickey Tettleton, an underrated player who hit .241 but drew a lot of walks and hit a fair number of HR (especially era-adjusted).

yeah I would not be thrilled to give him a 400M contract or whatever, but someone will

So are the Nats out on signing Harper or are they the leading contender?

no idea but i always assumed harper would want to play for bigger crowds in a bigger media market

But he's hitting .214, so that's all speculation.

― clemenza, Monday, July 16, 2018 3:46 PM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That's what, 5 hits tho?

Not stanning really but *shrug*

12 hits right now--in 550 AB, it'd be 20. But if you want to approach the question from that angle, that a few hits don't matter much, then surely those few hits aren't going to move him from a 0.0 WAR to one of the 10 most valuable players in the NL.

I'm not sure if you're saying that he is or isn't overrated.

there are only so many teams that have or would spend the kind of money he wants. the yankees seem to have a pretty full outfield? they could put him at first, but greg bird is *also* hitting .214 this year, and at 1/40th of the cost. the red sox signed jd martinez last winter and have mookie eligible for arbitration this winter. (mookie, btw, is nine days older than harper and is 4.5 bWAR up on him in two fewer seasons.)

the cubs and giants already have $140m on the books for 2019, which doesn't count raises for people like baez and bryant. the dodgers could afford him, but seem relatively unlikely to offer a historic contract for a guy as inconsistent as harper has been.

maybe the phillies? except i'd expect the phillies to be more interested in machado, as should, perhaps, most teams

The outside club I was thinking is maybe the Rangers. They have dropped some cash on some hitters over the years.

I'm not sure if you're saying that he is or isn't overrated.

― clemenza, Monday, July 16, 2018 7:08 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Wasn’t really saying either. I think his BABIP is really weird this year. I find him fascinating tho also lol this HR derby he’s such a choad

He's 25. Most guys are enter their prime now. Maybe he's a year late.

If I had to bet on 2015 or this year being the more anomalous, I'd definitely bet on this year. The list of position players besides Harper who've put up 10-WAR seasons since the war: Yastrzemski, Bonds, Ripken, Mantle, Mays, Musial, Morgan, Williams, Yount, Boudreau, Banks, Trout, A-Rod, Sosa, Rosen, Petrocelli. That's a pretty formidable list. I think at worst he'll have a better career than the last two guys, and they were good. My guess would be that he exceeds his current career slash line (.277/.384/.510) for the next several seasons. But again, I don't know who else you'd name as the most overrated player right now (or even based cumulatively on the last three seasons).

But again, I don't know who else you'd name as the most overrated player right now (or even based cumulatively on the last three seasons).

The DH for the Angels has made $24M/yr over the past 3 years while putting up a cumulative -1.1 WAR, and has batted exclusively in the 3rd/4th/5th spot in the lineup.

Pujols crossed my mind, but is there anyone who still rates him highly (except, I guess, the manager who continues to bat him 3rd/4th/5th)? I don't see overpaid and overrated as the same thing.

He was overrated by the Angels GM during the 2011 offseason

For a while I think Strasburg was a bit overrated, back when he still had some of that residual legendary buzz from his pre-injury days but was merely very good instead of elite.

But now I think he might actually be a bit underrated!

Probably a few such pieces out there at the moment:

http://www.billjamesonline.com/should_the_nationals_trade_bryce_harper/

Be forewarned: intangibles are discussed.

oh *bill*

Not BJ, Dave Fleming.

Homered in the first game today, .293/.419/.573 over the last 30 days. Doesn't suck.

that -3.3 dWAR on bWAR for 2018 is something else. wonder how legit that rating is; i wouldn't be surprised if he's not particularly good out there but that number is shockingly bad.

I know eye test doesn’t mean much but what I saw from him, this season, was just very bad.

mlbtraderumors predicts 14 years, $420M for harper

(13 years, $390M for Machado, for the same $30M AAV)

Will also be on the cover of the show 19

insane

what was wrong with his defense? Ben Lindbergh:

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2018/11/20/18104199/bryce-harper-free-agency-defense

some of those misplays are brutal

move him back to C! make the thread title relevant again!

getting easier to hate

https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2019/03/26/bryce-harper-is-pandering-hard-to-philly-fans/

If he ever has a bad season they’re going to boo the fuck out of him

they booed Mike Schmidt in good seasons!

i'm sure that's true, but i think the fact that he *chose* them will go a long way

Bryce got a tad upset with the strike calls tonight

you can buy Bryce's pomade

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/7FD8ED49-CB2F-4406-A326-54374A7DE0F8/

Bryce takes Hunter Strickland deep again. pic.twitter.com/hOFRO31tPi

— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) September 25, 2019

Dan Shulman, on a Toronto call-in this morning, called Harper a really, really talented player who ranks about #15-20 across both leagues. Sounds about right. (Except in April, when he leaps to the front of the class.)

WAR: it adds up over time. Harper was looking pretty poor earlier this year, but his second half has bailed him out somewhat overall, even if this is a bit of an off season by expectations.

#15-20 is a little optimistic

Seeing as there are as many as eight Astros/Red Sox players who'd rank ahead of him--Altuve, Bregman, Betts, and Bogarts for sure; Springer and Correa probably; Devers and Alvarez maybe; I'd add Martinez, too, if not for the age difference--you're probably right.

Yelich has more or less the same WAR as Harper with 500 less PA.

Speaking of Fred Lynn (I was, the other day, on the Juan Soto thread)...Is Harper Fred Lynn? Harper had a three-year jump age-wise, but through nine seasons, they're pretty close:

BH: 138 OPS+, 33.4 WAR
FL: 137 OPS+, 36.9 WAR

Two monster seasons each, although Harper's 2017 was injury-shortened; ROY both, one MVP each. (Lynn should have won a second in '79, an infamously terrible vote.)

i miss morbs. he would have bumped this thread several times by now. he's right there in the NL MVP race, and would seem to be the favorite if PHI can squeak into the playoffs. (i think if the padres make it, it's Tatis? if the reds make it...not sure)

(preamble about how harper often seems to be seen as a disappointment compared to his early promise)

his career line is now .278/.389/.520, a wRC+ of 141, wOPA of .384.
42 fWAR, 38.4 bWAR at age 28

pretty solid!

I used to be so down on Bryce but I was wrong

Definitely an MVP candidate...not sure I'd assume his career inconsistency is over, though. (His career numbers will likely remain in proximity to HOF-level because of how good his good years are.)

he has a good case but man what a depressing NL MVP race it's been, you've got prime acuna and tatis and soto and degrom and mookie and the league leader might not surpass 6 fWAR

well i guess corbin burnes and zack wheeler surpassed it already tbf

neither of them seem like candidates though

not sure I'd assume his career inconsistency is over, though.

this is what i mean, though - he hasn't been very inconsistent! i think that's his reputation. but look at his numbers:

https://i.imgur.com/Eg7Yf8K.png

his 2014 is his second worst, as a hitter. but he was 21 years old, and seriously injured for maybe the first time (?) in his career? and even then, he puts up a 115 wRC+, as a 21 year old, only looking bad in comparison to his own first couple years.

then his MVP 2015, which i think had the effect of resetting the expectation of him as a perennial mike trout superstar.

then his worst year, offensively, 2016. wRC+ of 111 -- 11% better than an average hitter -- dropping from .330 BA to .243 (BAPIB dropped from .369 to .264) looked bad, but his OBP was still .373!

and that's about it. those are his relatively bad seasons. his next worst hitting season is when he was 19 (wRC+ 121), and after that is 2019 (wRC+ 125), his first year in Philadelphia.

he's a pretty good lock for 4+ fWAR each year, and with upside for years like 2015 and 2021 as well. seems pretty consistent!

I think we're just looking at it from a different angle. then his MVP 2015, which i think had the effect of resetting the expectation of him as a perennial mike trout superstar--unfair as it may be, that's mine. If he were to stay where he is right now for a couple more seasons, I'd likely stop thinking that way. I still see Fred Lynn as a good comparison. Lynn also had a very good age-28 season--not as good as Harper this year, but he did get some MVP support. Another comparison (see above), this time Harper today vs. Lynn through his age-28 season:

Harper: .278/.389/.520, 141 OPS+, 38.4 WAR
Lynn: .308/.383/.520, 141 OPS+, 32.1 WAR

That's pretty damn close (Harper had a three-year head start on WAR). Lynn followed up with a disastrous strike-year season (injury? don't remember), then was never the same after that. So we'll see.

i guess i just mean, 10 years, 42 WAR for harper. he already proved himself

Good column:

https://open.substack.com/pub/joeposnanski/p/the-yankees-bryce-harper-and-what?r=1jtu0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

(xposts) A year later--and assuming Harper continues playing this well--the Lynn comparison is moot.