AFJF Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Interesting to say the least http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Bryce-Harper-punches-his-ticket-to-Cooperstown-a?urn=mlb,167844 Wed Jun 03, 2009 6:00 pm EDT Bryce Harper punches his ticket to Cooperstown at age 16 By 'Duk 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?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor99 Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Sidd Finch Redux? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arsis Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 SIGN THIS BEAST. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbn007 Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 About 7-8 years ago, SI had a cover story on some kid basketball player from Maryland who they predicted was the next great one. That was until he came to NY for a game, and some unknown named Ben Gordon scored like 50 points off him. Never heard from that Maryland kid again. Predicting how a 16 year old will do in his professional career is almost impossible. And anointing him the next great one is a sign of foolishness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dierking Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 About 7-8 years ago, SI had a cover story on some kid basketball player from Maryland who they predicted was the next great one. That was until he came to NY for a game, and some unknown named Ben Gordon scored like 50 points off him. Never heard from that Maryland kid again. Predicting how a 16 year old will do in his professional career is almost impossible. And anointing him the next great one is a sign of foolishness. Clint Hurdle had the same accolades, but when he was in the minors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonEJet Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Does anyone buy SI anymore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt39 Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 About 7-8 years ago, SI had a cover story on some kid basketball player from Maryland who they predicted was the next great one. That was until he came to NY for a game, and some unknown named Ben Gordon scored like 50 points off him. Never heard from that Maryland kid again. Predicting how a 16 year old will do in his professional career is almost impossible. And anointing him the next great one is a sign of foolishness. Gordon was nasty in high school. This was when Mount Vernon started to gain national prominence....Gordon wasnt even an All American. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dierking Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Does anyone buy SI anymore? I do, and have been a subscriber for over a decade. The writing, used to be second to none. And I am talking about for any magazine, not just for sports. Recently, in the last issue or 2, they have created a new format, and the articles seem less flowery and descriptive, and trying to just be informative. My hope this is just an anomaly in these issues, but my guess is that it is a concession to the short attention span, dumbing down for the least common denominator. That would be a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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