Will Leitch interviewed Bryce Harper for GQ, and the interview just went live. It’s fantastic. If for no other reason than the picture of Harper with a baseball in his mouth right at the top.
But it can also be summed up with Leitch’s observation that “Harper seems to have emerged fully formed to piss off the baseball establishment.”
Highlights:
- “When I hit the ball…I do want to hurt it … I want to play the game hard. I want to ram it down your throat, put you into left field when I’m going into second base.”
- “Playing football… I’m getting chills just thinking about it. That first knock of the game, you are going on kickoff and you are just trying to smack somebody just as hard as you can. That’s how I play baseball. I want to hit you. I want to run your ass over. Sorry.”
- “baseball needs more superstars.”
- And a quote from Mike Schmidt: “I would think at some point the game itself, the competition on the field, is going to have to figure out a way to police this young man.”
Harper is one of the most interesting young players to have emerged in my lifetime. If he lives up to the hype — or even comes close to living up to it — he’s going to be one of the most astounding things the game has ever seen. Pete Rose meets Muhammad Ali, maybe.
And if he doesn’t, God help the guy who has to do the article in which a 30-something Harper talks about how full of piss and vinegar he was when he was 19 and how he wishes he hadn’t said some of the things he said.
For now, though: Mercy. I’m kinda excited.
