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By Steve Adams | at
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Mikenmn
I think that’s Tyler Kepner of the New York Times
Steve Adams
Thanks for that catch.
sflomenb
Don’t make excuses for Harper. I thought he was one of the best players? It’s sad how people compared him to Trout.
Rally Weimaraner
Hindsight is always 20/20. Now it seems a lil silly to compare Harper and Trout but when they first came up it was justified. Harper was actually better in his first 130 PA than Trout, granted Trouts first 130 PA were in 2011 not 2012. Trout first 135 PA: .220/.280/.390 Harper first 129 PA: .271/.355/.505.
Now its easy to say Trout was the better player but in the first half of 2012 there was no reason to think Trout would sustain his superstar performance or that Harper wouldn’t have a Trout like break out after his first 130 PA.
Context is everything.
DarthMurph
There is too much scrutiny on Harper, though his attitude hasn’t helped matters. The media made a big deal about a player who obviously needs time to find his stride. Most players do.
Drazthegr8
He has a fantastic attitude. He’s usually trying to run through walls or stretching singles to doubles like no one else, making times when he isn’t hustling look worse. He’s pleasant, good with the media, and teammates seem to really like him. And… He’s 21.
stl_cards16
He had a combined 8.3 WAR in his first two seasons at an age of most players in single-A. The only people knocking him are reaching at best. He’s a very good player and is 5-6 years away from his prime.
TDKnies
Harper gets too much scrutiny because a lot of people are really sick of so much of the media hyping him up too much too early. Example, a huge majority of ESPN writers picked him to win the MVP award in a piece they released towards the end of spring training. The friggin’ MVP! With over half the votes! That’s not Harper’s fault, but it will make some viewers royally ticked when Harper doesn’t meet those expectations right away thinking “What’s the big deal with this guy?”
I think Harper’s fantastic. Love the way he plays the game. And he’s had a very impressive start to his career especially considering his age. But it’s really annoying to watch some of the media get hopped up on predicting the next step instead of letting it actually happen and then celebrating it. He’s great, so let’s call him great. But let’s wait until he’s actually an MVP before we start calling him that too.
alphabet_soup5
Harper is #16 in all-time wRC+ from ages 19-21, give him time. Trout is in a class of his own, but Harper still has great potential.
hawkny11
Williams has to establish that he is the manager otherwise his stay in Washington will be shorter than his contract was written for. FWIW, he is old school so expect more of the same with other players who fail to play the way Matt wants them to play on the field. As for the Mets it is so nice to see them get off to a competitive start. Lets hope they can keep it up.
tesseract
Saying the nats “made a mistake hiring a manager with zero experience” is risky for Law. I would say Law made a mistake by making such comment. Also, there will be a point in time when all these excuses of “Harper is still the youngest player that ever lived” or “He should be a sophomore in college at his age”, etc. will cease to exist and we will really see what kind of player he is.