Read the debate intro and Sports Geek’s opinion.
Before we talk about sports, let’s put this in context. Imagine a kid, age 16, who is told that he is really good at something and has great potential, and now wants to quit high school and try to “make it.” If he were trying to quit school and go to Hollywood and act, it would be considered a bad idea. If he were trying to quit school to become a musician, it would be a bad idea. He might have all the talent in the world, but people would advise him against it. So why should it be any different because he would be playing baseball instead of singing or acting?
“But Bleacher Fan,” I hear you say… “it’s not his parents or his music teacher telling him he’s great – these are professional baseball scouts that know what they are talking about.”
Scouts aren’t fortune tellers. They just try to spot potential talent, and that’s ALL Bryce Harper is – potential talent. Don’t forget, professional scouts also thought that Tito Nanni was going to be a good ballplayer in the Majors, having come right out of high school!
As a Major League General Manager, there is no way I’m drafting Harper or any other child athlete (‘phenom’ is such an unfair label to place on a child).
Consider the fact that Harper hasn’t matured mentally. I remember when I was 16-years-old. Dealing with the pressure of homework was enough stress for me. I couldn’t imagine having to bear the burden of maintaining performance because I was signed to a big-league contract.
I can also remember how hard it was to receive criticism for something as simple as when my socks didn’t match. That was devastating to me. So once again, I couldn’t imagine being placed under the microscope that professional athletes are. The criticism that he receives, both on AND off the field, could lead to serious emotional problems.
While they are not MLB players, consider the Olsen Twins, Britney Spears, Todd Bridges, the two Coreys, or Danny Bonaduce. All of these examples are kids who were given the responsibility (and income) of full-grown adults, and all of them were unable to handle the pressures that come with that responsibility.
Many grown men aren’t even mature enough to deal with the responsibilities and pressures of being a professional athlete. Consider what those pressures have done to guys like John Daly, Josh Hamilton, or Plaxico Burress. These are grown men who have acted like irresponsible children. Unfortunately, because they had the financial means to get into “real” trouble, their irresponsibility was compounded. Imagine putting the financial means that those guys have in the hands of a child.
Kellen Winslow, Jr. is another perfect example of the immaturity that professional athletes can demonstrate. He thought he was invincible and could do whatever he wanted, so he rode a stunt-bike and nearly ended his career before it even started. If Winslow, who was nearly ten years older than Harper is now, could be so foolish as to do something like that, what would a 16-year-old kid do?
To counter-balance all of those arguments, people will bring up LeBron James as a ‘look how good HE turned out’ example. Even LeBron James, though, finished high school, and he is only ONE example of how it could work right. Compared to all the examples that went poorly, I would consider him the exception, not the norm.
I’m not arguing that Bryce Harper will be a bust in professional baseball. My only concern is that he has barely begun to figure out for himself who he is, so how on earth could professional scouts have any idea what he will become? There is too much risk for both a team – and for Harper – to gamble on now. At any point, on any given day, if Bryce Harper chooses to make just one stupid mistake (which 16-year-old kids are apt to do) it could ruin his entire career, and cost the organization a great deal of money.
If he really IS as great as everyone expects him to be, then the extra couple of years experience under the spotlight would do him good, and he’ll still be available in a few years time… patience is a virtue. In the meantime, I’ll pass on the kid and go for the guy who’s actually proven himself against more talent than little Tommy Higginson, Dr. Higginson’s kid from Henderson who just figured out how to throw a curve ball last week.
