I found the cover photo of last week's Sports Illustrated a little disturbing. It wasn't Kobe Bryant, Albert Pujols or some other recognizable superstar but rather a sixteen year old baseball prodigy. "Baseballs Chosen One," the headline proclaimed. Baseball scouts are drooling over a high school sophomore who slugs five hundred foot home runs and fires the ball at ninty-six miles per hour. His name is Bryce Harper and he lives in Las Vegas. He is so far above other high school players in his area that he now flys around the country playing for various all star teams. There is talk of him taking the GED so that can graduate early and be eligible for the major league draft. Noted agent, Scott Boras, is already advising his parents.
I am not Scott Boras but I do have some advise. Slow Down, mom and dad. I point to two other high school phenoms; David Clyde and Todd Van Poppel. Both made the jump right from high school to the major leagues. Both had abbreviated careers. Sure there have been some successes. Robin Yount and Ivan Rodriguez come to mind. Rodriguez is even a natural catcher like Harper.
The article portrays Bryce Harper as a kid who has his act together. In one picture in the magazine the scripture reference "Luke 1:37" adorns one taped wrist, the words, "Play for Him" is on the other. He supposedly participates in a Bible study every morning. Good for him. He still is only sixteen years old. While he has athletic ability far beyond the age, he has the brain and maturity of a teenager. His value system is still developing and his life management skills are very much a work in progress. To surround him with people who will manage his life is doing him a disservice. To deny him the opportunity to grow up experiencing his high school years could sow the seeds of resentment somewhere down the line. In short, Bryce needs to just be allowed to grow up. If he's that good the money will always be there.
An interesting contrast was a brief article in this mornings Dallas Morning News. "Paschal (high school) Star Takes Dad's Advice," was the heading. The story was about Brian Milner and his son Hoby. Brian was high school prodigy who turned down a scholarship to Arizona State to sign with the Blue Jays. He was out of the game five years later with only nine profession at bats. Last month, thirty one years later, he finally graduated from college. Now Hoby has "eye popping" statistics. Hoby plans to attend the University of Texas on a baseball scholarship. "If anything happens, I'll have my degree," he states.
That says it all.
Very true, I really don't see any reason to rush the kid. He is already getting a bunch of media exposure for his fifteen minutes of fame ( http://www.newsy.com/videos/prodigy_at_16_hype_or_home_run ) and appears to be handling it well but that is a lot of pressure for a 16 year old. Let's also hope that he doesn't get too arrogant; some of his comments lead me to believe he could be setting up for a nasty fall.
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