http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/bi...es-his-ticket-to-Cooperstown-a?urn=mlb,167844 I have no idea if there's a difference in pressure between having every baseball wonk following you around at age 16 and having every sports fan in the country learn your name, but I suppose Bryce Harper will soon be able to tell us. Following in its grand tradition of predicting can't miss future superstars like Schea Cotton and Tamir Goodman, Sports Illustrated is using the cover of this week's magazine to tout the 16-year-old Las Vegas resident as "the most exciting prodigy since LeBron." Writes SI's Tom Verducci: "Still only 16, Harper stands 6'3", weighs 205 pounds, has faster bat speed than Mark McGwire in his prime and runs so fast that he scored on wild pitches six times this season from second base. As a catcher he picks off runners from his knees, and when he pitches, he throws a fastball that has been clocked at 96 mph. "When James was 16, he was a high school sophomore with an NBA game and a body to match. Harper has been compared to Justin Upton(notes), Alex Rodriguez(notes) and Ken Griffey Jr.(notes), each a freakishly advanced high school player and each the top overall pick of his draft. But Harper, say the baseball men who are paid to make such assessments, has the ability as a sophomore that the aforementioned trio had as seniors." Whether or not Harper will eventually save SI from the limb it just walked out on remains to be seen, but it should be said that Harper certainly believes he can. "Be in the Hall of Fame, definitely," says Harper when asked by Verducci about his goals. "Play in Yankee Stadium. Play in the pinstripes. Be considered the greatest baseball player who ever lived. I can't wait." Under normal circumstances, I'd say it's getting ahead of ourselves to point out that he doesn't mention winning the World Series as a goal or that he'll likely have to play the first several years of his career for a team not named the Yankees before his current "adviser" Scott Boras negotiates the first billion dollar contract in MLB history. But since we're talking about a kid who's hitting 570-foot home runs and already has a frame that looks like it was constructed by a team of uber-intelligent robots, why not get a little crazy and predict that Harper will finish his career by passing Barry Bonds'(notes) home run mark, Pete Rose's hits mark AND Cy Young's wins total? Of course, that'll only be after he hits .400 in a season, hits safely in 57 straight games and throws eight no-hitters ... in the same year. (Hey, everyone else is doing it ... why can't I?) To get a glimpse of Harper in action, check out the video below. Impressive, to say the least. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jQQ5cZD8PgU&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jQQ5cZD8PgU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
prob a bad idea to put him on the cover calling him the prodigy...only 16...this isnt basketball, this could kid easily get drafted out of high school and then just disappear while in the minor leagues
Or just throw his arm out while he's throwing one of his 96mph fastballs. The human arm/shoulder was not built to throw overhand. It was built to throw underhand. That being said, certain individuals possess the muscle-contruction to throw pure gas with ease... those individuals (just like the basketball players born to be 7 feet tall) are simply genetically blessed. However, all hard throwers succumb to injury eventually. Forget about catching AND pitching... he should just focus on being a hitter.
Baseball's LeBron James? You mean he lost a [baseball] game and stormed out of the field without shaking hands, talking to the press, accepting a loss at the hands of a better team and calling himself a winner the next day?
He wants to be a Yankee? I assume Scott Boris will be his agent and any team looking to draft him that's not the Yankees will be told to f**k off. There seriously needs to be an enforced pay scale for baseball draftees.
True. But that year James and Telfair were pretty neck and neck as far as hype. There were documentaries made on Telfair's high school games.
Of course it did. He was supposed to be the next great NYC point guard like uh Mark Jackson? Kenny Anderson? Kenny Smith? Rafer Alston?
I know, do these guys ever pan out. Kenny Smith actually had a chance to be great, he got hurt in Sactown, and say what you will about jackson, he actually is in the top five in assists i believe. other than that, I totally agree.
