Fan favorite

Prep phenom brings out the crowds for summer league baseball

By Michael Kinney

MOORE — The Bryce Harper experience came to an end Sunday night.

One week after arriving in Oklahoma surrounded by a whirlwind of media activity and general curiosity, the 16-year-old left the state amid the same conditions.

Since the day Harper appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as “Baseball’s Chosen One,” a maelstrom of attention has surrounded his every move. It followed him to Westmoore last week, where he agreed to play for his former USA baseball trials coach Kevin Winterrowd.

Harper’s first game at Westmoore garnered national media coverage and more than 600 baseball fans filled the high school field to watch the teen’s exploits.

In six games with the Jaguars, Harper didn’t disappoint. He batted .739 with four homers, four doubles, a triple, 11 RBIs and 11 runs scored. He also stole eight bases and induced five walks.

“I always use the term, when people ask me about Bryce… he is just different,” Winterrowd said. “How he hits, how he plays, everything is different. I am not really surprised when he does things. It’s an expectation that he is going to play so hard something good is going to happen.”

The most telling figure associated with Harper’s popularity may have come from the four-day Moore Varsity Metal Bat Tournament held at Moore High. Almost every game Westmoore played in saw huge crowds fill up the stands.

“I think it can only do good for us,” Westmoore summer league coach Shawn Brooks said. “The kids get used to seeing that. They get used to being around that. Our goal every year is to play for a state title. To win the last game that you play. So anytime you get out there and get a lot of people in the stands, making some noise and getting after it, that bodes well for us.”

Harper injured his leg slightly Saturday sliding into home base. This forced him to sit out Sunday’s title game against Yukon I. This was the only contest that saw less than stellar attendance.

Yet, it still meant a big pay day for the Lions baseball program. According to Moore coach David Hinckley, Moore raised between $2,000 and $3,000 from its tournament.

The curiosity surrounding Harper was comparable to a major league baseball player coming to town. And in a sense, that is exactly what it was.

Despite Harper only being classified as a junior in high school, many baseball analyst projected he would have been a top 2 pick in this year’s draft if he had been able to enter.

Technically Harper is still two years away from realizing his professional goals. But his father said that dream may come sooner than expected. Ron Harper announced this weekend that his son will pass on his final two years of high school, get his GED and play community college baseball next year at the College of Southern Nevada.

“People question your parenting and what you’re doing. Honestly, we don’t think it’s that big a deal,” Ron Harper told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He’s not leaving school to go work in a fast food restaurant. Bryce is a good kid. He’s smart, and he’s going to get his education.”

The Harpers are hoping all of this will make him eligible to enter the 2010 MLB draft since he will turn 17 in October.

As a sophomore at Las Vegas High School last year, Harper hit .626 with 14 home runs. He added 55 RBIs and stole 36 bases. Whenever he is drafted, he will more than likely be the No. 1 overall pick without graduating from high school.

In general, a move like this would disturb me. I value education above all else. And the question that I can’t shake is if this were basketball, and Harper was from Brooklyn, would he be getting this much positive coverage about dropping out of high school?

However, while it may seem like a gamble, the younger Harper’s talents lessen the chance he will be hurt by the decision. Yet, it’s his work ethic that stood out to his temporary coaches.

“I think the biggest thing that shocks everybody is when you see him on the cover of Sports Illustrated, it’s how hard he plays,” Winterrowd said. “He plays the game like they did 50 years ago. He doesn’t take a pitch off. And our kids have been doing that as well. He only increased their understand that boy when you get after it and play that hard every single pitch, good things have happened.”

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