‘Fireworks at Nats Park’
courtesy of ‘MudflapDC’
The Nationals were nice enough to present fans with an un-official Strasmas gift last night with the unsurprising selection of Bryce Harper during the first-overall selection in the 2010 First-Year Player MLB Draft.
An important distinction was made with the Nationals selection of 17-year-old hitting powerhouse Harper. He was announced and will enter the Nationals organization as an outfielder as opposed to a catcher, a position has played this season in the Scenic West Athletic Conference.
The coolest part about this kid has to be that he swings lefty, throws righty, and has unbelievable numbers. This season alone, he hit .443 (101-for-228) with 23 doubles, four triples, 31 home runs, 98 RBI, 39 walks and 20 stolen bases in 66 games for College of Southern Nevada. Which, to make this present even better, uses wood-bats.
Harper is prime for success in the big leagues pending solid training at the minor league level, but just know we won’t be seeing him for quite awhile. Remember, he might’ve gotten his GED, but the boy is still only 17.
Now, on to Strasmas Day. Who knows — by the end of all this D.C. might end up being a baseball town! Wouldn’t that be nice?
Rachel moved to DC in the fall of 2005 to study Journalism and Music at American University. When she’s not keeping up with the latest Major League Baseball news, she works on making music as an accomplished singer-songwriter and was even a featured performer/speaker at TEDxDupont Circle in 2012. Rachel has also contributed to The Washington Examiner and MASN Sports’ Nationals Buzz as a guest blogger. See why she loves DC. E-Mail: rachel@welovedc.com.
For the Nats, it’s an uphill climb up Mt. Redskin from a 33 year-old hole…
They may use wood bats down at Harper’s JUCO, but they don’t have pro pitchers. We’ll see if he can make the necessary adjustments in the minors.