Difference between revisions of "Bryce Harper:Mormon Athlete"

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Bryce Aron Max Harper is an outfielder for the Major League Baseball Washington Nationals.

Harper was born on October 16, 1992, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has one brother. He attended Las Vegas High School and earned his GED after his sophomore year, so he could begin his professional baseball career early. He attended the College of Southern Nevada, which was part of the Scenic West Athletic Conference. He was named the 2010 SWAC Player of the Year.

On June 2, 2010, he was ejected from a National Junior College World Series game after the home plate empire called third strike. Harper drew a line in the dirt with his bat as he left the plate, presumably to show where he thought the pitch was. Because this was his second ejection for the year, he was suspended for two games. Southern Nevada was eliminated from the tournament during his suspension, which ended Harper’s amateur career. He won the 2010 Golden Spikes Award.

Harper was the first overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. Although he had previously played catcher, the Nationals drafted him as outfielder to extend his career and accelerate his player development. He signed a five-year contract worth $9.9 million.

He played in the Nationals’ fall instructional league and was selected to participate in the Arizona Fall League as a member of the Scottsdale Scorpions taxi-squad. The Nationals optioned him to the Hagerstown Suns to begin his minor-league career. Because of a slow start, he visited an optometrist who fitted him with contact lenses, which improved his stats.

He represented the U. S. in the 2011 All-Star Futures Game. He was promoted to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators in July 2011. In August he injured his hamstring and had to be carried off the field. The injury kept him out for the season.

During 2012 spring training, Harper was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse and started the season there playing center field. On April 27, 2012, he was called up to the Nationals and made his MLB debut the next day against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was the first teenager to steal home plate since 1964, and the youngest player to homer in the major leagues since 1998.

During a game against the Toronto Blue Jays in June 2012, he hit a deep home run to center field that struck an advertising banner adjacent to the restaurant in the second tier of seats (an estimated distance of 438 feet). After the game, a reporter asked if Harper would take advantage of Ontario’s lower drinking age (19 instead of the U.S. 21) by drinking a beer with his teammates. Harper is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and does not drink alcohol. He replied, “I’m not going to answer that. That’s a clown question, bro.” His comment developed into an Internet meme, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid used it in response to a question he was asked. Harper filed an application to trademark the phrase.

Harper became the third youngest player to make an All-Star roster. He was named 2012 National League Rookie of the Year.

In 2013, Harper became the youngest major league player to hit two home runs in his team’s first game of the season. He received his second career All-Star selection. And was selected to participate in the 2013 Home Run Derby. During the off season he had left knee surgery to remove a bursa sac.

Harper suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb on April 25, 2014, after sliding into third base, which required surgery.

He announced his engagement to Kayla Varner in May 2014.