Bryce Harper’s Youthful Outlook No Problem
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By DERON SNYDER
Can we let Bryce Harper be Bryce Harper for now, when he’s 19 and still learning the ways of the world? Can we appreciate his personality, letting him grow and mature, without asking him to be a plastic player filled with false humility? Can we encourage him to be as honest and open as possible, letting him experiment with the boundaries, instead of turning him into a colorless cliche machine who never says anything remotely interesting or stimulating?
I understand why the Washington Nationals are concerned about everything that emanates from Harper’s mouth and Twitter account. A major-league prospect hasn’t been scrutinized this heavily since … uh, Stephen Strasburg.
But this is different because Strasburg doesn’t play every day and the phenoms’ respective personalities are polar opposites.
Strasburg is likely to say or do something controversial as often as he pitches nine innings without a strikeout. Harper’s comments and actions tend to rub folks the wrong way as often as not. Unfortunately, we’ve reached the point where Harper’s critics manufacture outrage if the effect doesn’t occur naturally.
That’s what happened a couple of weeks ago when Harper re-affirmed his love for non-D.C. teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers and Duke Blue Devils. “I love my Nationals, but im not a Redskins, Georgetown, Wizards, nor a Capitals fan!” he tweeted. A later tweet read: “Cowboys cowboys cowboys for life!!! I hate those redskins! Hah.”
Judging by the reaction from local fans and media, I guess 19-year-olds from Nevada are supposed to automatically drop their childhood rooting interests and adopt the hometown teams in their employer’s market. Spare me.
