it's going to be fun watching this kid develop over the coming years. aside from throwing 96 from the mound, J.D. Drew was as highly touted as this kid.
When big Bryce Harper made the cover of Sports Illustrated two weeks ago, I knew we'd soon again be hearing from the 16-year-old 'chosen one.'
But not quite this soon.
On Sunday, the sophomore from Las Vegas found his way into national headlines again when his father announced that Bryce will forgo his final two years of high school and use a GED to enroll in a community college this August. Though it more or less makes a mockery of our education system, the Harpers' plan would make Bryce eligible for the 2010 draft, where he could conceivably be the Nationals' No. 1 pick and eventually join forces with Stephen Strasburg to save Washington baseball from itself.
It's a controversial decision, to be sure, but Ron Harper says he and his son are prepared to hear from the inevitable haters.
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
"There are going to be critics. I can't worry about what people think," Ron Harper said. "People are going to see what they want to see and say what they want to say. I think this prepares him for life, playing the game of baseball.
"People question your parenting and what you're doing. Honestly, we don't think it's that big a deal. 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."
From my viewpoint, I'm not going to act like a truant officer on Harper's decision when viewed in a vacuum. It's quite clear that Harper has loads of talent, lives to play baseball and has been groomed to play professional baseball ever since he and his family realized that he was much better than everyone else. It's obvious he has that physical attributes to succeed and he'd be drafted in two years anyway, so why delay the inevitable? Is an 18-year-old really that much better equipped to handle the pressures of grand expectations than a 16-year-old? As much as people will want to say that Harper should stay in school like a normal kid, the truth is that whatever normal life he had disappeared the minute he showed up on the cover of a magazine at homes across the country.
Plus, in an age when tennis and golf prodigies leave their families for top-flight academies before the age of 10 and future basketball studs are identified in the sixth grade, what's the problem with Harper setting out on a very defined career path? Being the top pick in the draft could net him $20 million or more, so making a play while the chips are on his side is just simply a smart move ? especially in the volatile world of baseball talent.
The problem I do have with it, though, is that there are no doubt thousands of delusional parents who will see this news and think that maybe it's a viable path for their nowhere-near-as-talented sons and daughters. While the Harpers can't make their decision based on what other lemmings might do, I hope the door closes behind them.
What do you think?
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it's going to be fun watching this kid develop over the coming years. aside from throwing 96 from the mound, J.D. Drew was as highly touted as this kid.
this is the single most ridiculous thing ive ever heard
if MLB has some nuts, they will tell this kid to go **** himself and go back to school.
this is truly the beginning of the end for the truly gifted HS athlete.
if MLB lets this kid get away with this, we could see a thousand more kids try this, in all different sports.
so, fukk bryce harper, fukk his dad.
they are imbeciles.
and darrell, are you truly okay with this?
this is the first step before we start doing like other countries and let 12 year old kids leave school to play sports.
whats bryce gonna do after baseball? what if something happens and he gets hurt and cant play anymore?
hes gonna be another big time hotshot ballplayer living on crumbs.
stay in school
Colleges will always be open. If he flames out, he can live on his signing bonus, go to school, get a degree, and then get a job if needed.Originally Posted by Biggin
While I don't agree with the kids leaving high school early, the argument of "what is he going to do after baseball" doesn't make sense to me. He will always have the opportunity to go back to school and get a degree.
i see it a different way
college is a time to mature and grow up and become an adult
its not just for the degree, its for making kids become functioning adults
and this kid, who isnt even gonna finish HS, is not going to be ready to be on his own and take care of himself.
is mommy and daddy gonna live with him in the big leagues?
its a bad decision, and the kid needs to stay in school.
i can find no way to defend this at all.
Theres plenty of kids in the minors his age doing the same thing. I don't agree with it necessarily, but its not like he's the first. The kid that played SS for the Kmets last year was 16 and could flat out play some ball.
"Call me crazy, but I want to buy the Dallas Cowboys end zone and have the star right at the foot of my bed. That way when I score, I can spike the ball right on the star!" -Woody Paige, Around the Horn 10.9.08
the kids are leaving HS,getting GED's and getting drafted?
why havent i heard about this before?
parents actually let their kids leave HS like that?
Im okay with them missing college, im cool with that.
but dropping out of HS???
the MLB needs to fix that now.
it makes me sick that some parents are willing to take their kids out of school.
it shows how greedy that some people are.
No Im not saying kids drop out of HS and get GEDs to do this, but there are lots of 16 and 17 year olds in the minors. They are mainly latinos, but to me theres no big difference. Its still to young to me to be signing people to contracts and having them live away from home.
"Call me crazy, but I want to buy the Dallas Cowboys end zone and have the star right at the foot of my bed. That way when I score, I can spike the ball right on the star!" -Woody Paige, Around the Horn 10.9.08
If you can play, play. I have no problem with what he's doing at all, especially if his parents support it. This is America, you make decisions, succeed or fail. Let the guy go and try it, he may be the next big thing, he may have a GED with a huge signing bonus. God blessed this kid with unreal skills, who am I to tell him how and when to use them. It goes back to my fundamental beliefs that we should allow everyone to make their own decisions without fear of government telling them they cant. If you can't tell I'm totally against the NBA rule as well.
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