Hello Fans,
The MLB is loaded with young, young talent both in pitching staffs and everyday players. One new addition to the surplus is the Nationals’ Bryce Harper. Yes, he’s still a teenager. And I did keep a copy of his Sports Illustrated cover from ’09 when he was 16 and looking to get out high school two years early to go play college ball. He’s made a smooth transition at every level of the game, and a couple of injuries forced Washington to call him up, ready or not. Well, he was ready, and he isn’t going back to the likes of Triple A. Ever. Talent wise, he’s a 21st century version of a Griffey Jr. or a Mickey Mantle. Whether or not he can approach that type of career remains to be seen, but he has the skills and the numbers. And he also gets the cameras. The interviews. The headlines.
Harper has put up a great .307 average, .390 OBP (great discipline getting BBs), 7 HRs, and 19 RBI in his first 40 games and 150 at-bats (through 6/12/12). He’s also shown off his arm with shots to the plate. He turns 20 on October16th. And speaking of 20. There’s a 20 year old in L.A. batting in the lead-off spot. He goes 6’1″, 210 pounds and plays center for Mike Sciosia’s Angels. You know the team, the one that is expected the challenge the Rangers for the A.L. West title like they do every year it seems. Mike Trout is the OF’s name. I’m sure you’ve heard about him at least. He does get some fan fare. But I’m thinking it should be as great, if not greater than Harper’s. Here’s why: Trout came up last year (he turned 20 last August) and played, ironically, 40 games in ’11. That makes for an easy break off point to compare his numbers to Harper’s. His line went for a .220 average, .281 OBP, 5 HR, and 16 RBI in 123 at-bats. Harper clearly has the edge, but Trout also stole four bags and didn’t get caught while Harper snagged four and got nailed three times.
OK, here’s why Trout should be getting more limelight (especially in the East). In 41 games in ’12, he goes for a .345 average, .406 OBP, 6 HRs, 26 RBI, and 15 swipes! Can you say All-Star? He’s a lead-off man with a .958 OPS! Only the likes of Josh Hamilton, Ryan Braun, David Ortiz, Joey Votto, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Gonzalez can match that. In addition to his 15 steals, he’s only gotten caught three times. That’s 83.3 percent, which is other worldly. Trout also has 10 doubles and three triples to Harper’s 8 dubs and 4 trips. Not bad for a 19 year old, but the 20 year old has him so far in 2012.
Don’t get me wrong, Trout is getting some due. I just wanted to point out the gap between production and publicity. For the second set of 40 games of his career, the pressure is on Harper to match Trout. And the pressure always will be on Harper as his story is very similar to the likes of Tiger Woods or LeBron James as phenoms. However, Trout is becoming a phenom himself and is putting on quite a show as a result. As a fan, I’ll purposely sit down to watch a game that either Trout or Harper is playing in. That’s not because of the hype, rather their high level of play and skill. These guys will battle pitchers for years to come much like the Mays’s, Musials, McCoveys, and Mantles did in other eras. Who knows? Maybe they’ll meet in the World Series some day like three of those four HOFers did!
NOTE: Mantle’s Yanks and Mays & McCovey’s Giants met in the W.S. in ’51 and ’62. Musial retired in ’63 and would have played against Mantle in the ’64 Classic.
Later Fans.