A Real-Life Roy Hobbs?

Last night, for the first time in my life I saw The Natural with Robert Redford. Today, E60 is doing a story on Bryce Harper. Coincidence, I think not. Who the heck is Bryce Harper? Well, he’s only the next big thing in baseball. He’s already been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine labeled as “The Chosen One.” A nickname given a few years earlier by SI to Lebron James, and that worked out pretty well as I recall. Harper is so good with the bat, that he allegedly once hit a 570 ft home run. As a pitcher, he can touch 96mph. Did I mention that Bryce Harper, the new Chosen One, savior to baseball, the real-life Roy Hobbs, is only 16 years old?

There are a number of other comparisons between Hobbs and Harper. For example, both players bat left handed. Hobbs also proved his talent as both a pitcher and a hitter. Early in the movie, a young Hobbs strikes out a fictional “Babe Ruth” character. As mentioned above, Harper can already touch 96 mph. When Hobbs finally made the big leagues, it was as a power hitting right fielder. Harper has already hit a 502 ft home run in a Major League ballpark. As a matter of fact, that home run is a longest   ever hit at Tropicana Field. Harper, however, wants to catch in the major leagues. From the numerous reports, he consistency is able to throw runners out from his knees. Do you know how many catchers there have been in the history of baseball with those skills? You could count them on one hand.

If there is anything wrong with Bryce Harper, it’s that Scott Boras is already involved in the situation. Boras is officially an “advisor” to Harper at this time, but expect Boras to be the choice when Harper is eligible for the draft. That day may come sooner than anyone expects. While most 16 year olds are sophomores or juniors in high school, Harper has decided to enroll at a community college for the upcoming school year. If Harper can pass the test to earn his GED, he will be playing against college students. Even more interestingly though, if Harper does succeed in playing a year at the College of Southern Nevada, he will be eligible for the 2010 amateur players draft. He would be 17 years old! At 17, I was still praying that girls would talk to me (then again, that explains why I am a sports blogger), Harper could be making his professional baseball debut. Not only that, but he would likely go number one overall in the draft. If you think this Steven Strasburg negotiation is going to be brutal, just wait until the 17 year old, 570 ft   hitting, catcher gets selected in the draft. ESPN’s Keith Law has speculated, in the E60 piece, that Harper could be the first high school draftee to earn a contract worth $10 million. Yikes!

In The Natural, Roy Hobbs states that after he retires, he hopes that “when I walked down the street people would’ve looked and they would’ve said there goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was in this game.” Harper also has similar goals.  According to the SI article, Harper wants to, “be in the Hall of Fame, definitely. Play in Yankee Stadium. Play in the pinstripes. Be considered the greatest baseball player who ever lived. I can’t wait.” If Harper can obtain his GED and become a professional by the age of 17, he just might get the chance to achieve those goals.