Watching Bryce Harper

I went up to Hagerstown, MD yesterday to see the Hagerstown Suns play a double-header against the Lakewood BlueClaws. Okay, that's not entirely accurate. I didn't really care so much about the Suns, and I'll be surprised if I ever set foot in Hagerstown again. I went there for the sole purpose of seeing future savior of D.C. baseball --and heck, I'll go ahead and say it: future Hall of Famer--Bryce Harper play up close, before he gets promoted to Double-A, then Triple-A, and eventually, the Nationals, at which point I'll pretty much be watching him exclusively on TV and from the cheap-ish seats at Nats Park.

It was a lot of fun, especially if, as I do, you tend to enjoy minor league games more than major league ones. If you have time to go to Hagerstown one weekend (or possibly Woodbridge, if he goes there before he heads up to Harrisburg), I'd recommend making the trek. I mean, tickets in the VIP section are $10. At Nats Park, $10 puts you in section 405.

The Suns team store has essentially been reconfigured as the Bryce Harper Store. If you wanted a shirt or a jersey featuring other Suns players, this is not currently the store for you.

The girl manning the cash register assured people in the store that the Suns do in fact have other players. If I hadn't actually seen them, I'm not sure I would have believed her.

One of the nice things about minor league baseball is how approachable the players are. Before the game started, several of them went up and down the fence, talking to fans and signing autographs. Harper was a noticeable exception. And it's not like the fans were only interested in Harper's autograph, but his was clearly the most coveted. But they were SOL both before the game and between games, as Harper not only didn't sign anything for the crowd gathered along the first base line, but purposely wouldn't even make eye contact or in any way acknowledge their existence.

I didn't want an autograph, but I could empathize with those who did. The kids, anyway. Not so much the adults who'd brought binders full of baseball cards. So Harper's avoidance sort of came off as, at best, aloof, and at worst, a bit douchey. I maybe understood him not signing stuff before the game for whatever reason--getting mentally prepared, letting the other players enjoy the spotlight, etc.--but when people are shouting out your name ten feet away from you, smile...wave...let them know you'll sign stuff after the game...do something other than completely ignore them.

Here's one instance that did seem to fall squarely into the douchey category: Harper grounded out to first to end an inning. Instead of going back to the dugout, he took off his helmet, tossed it at the feet of the player who was serving as first base coach, and headed to the outfield, leaving the player to pick up the helmet, take it in, get Harper's cap, glove and sunglasses, and run out to center field to deliver them. After the half-inning was over, the Suns' manager stopped Harper on his way into the dugout with a hand on his chest and words were briefly exchanged. I couldn't hear what was said, so I can't be certain the two events were connected, but the manager didn't seem especially happy. Nearby fan reaction to the helmet tossing included, "What a tool," and "Oh, Bryce." Hopefully, this isn't an early warning sign of diva behavior.

But if Harper was a tool yesterday, he had plenty of company in the stands. At the start of the game, several fans would walk up to the fence to watch the game or take photos or try and get Harper's attention, blocking the views of the people in the seats. Eventually, an usher had to rope that section off. Later, one fan literally reached out and grabbed a player walking into the dugout and tried to hand him a ball to give Harper to sign. The player politely declined. Another fan whined at Harper to sign an autograph during the game. "He's working!" some woman snapped at him.

The worst Harper fan was also the one most likely to be planning to make a Bryce Harper skin suit. He was in his 40s or 50s, wore a hoodie, and would often lean over the fence and stare right into the dugout at Harper. He recorded him coming on and off the field every inning on his phone. And when he wasn't being weird, he was being a jerk. At one point, a couple of little kids right next to him begged one of the players to toss them a foul ball that had landed on the field. The player did so, and the asshole actually stood up, moved in front of them, and snatched it out of the air. Incredulous fans who witnessed this had to publicly shame him before he reluctantly gave the ball to the kids. And then a minute later, he asked for it back so he could take a picture of it. What the fuck? Later, he creepily said to a woman behind him, "But if number 34 had been the one who'd tossed it, it would have been another story." I'm telling you: Skin. Suit. Watch your back, Bryce, and don't help any strangers load stuff into vans.

The day had a happy ending: The creepy fan left early, the Suns won both games, and Harper finally signed autographs.

I can't even imagine what kind of pressure Harper is under. Being 18 years old, having the hopes of a losing franchise resting on your shoulders, and maybe scariest of all, having fans to please. I'm not saying I'd be handling it any better than he is, but Jesus, kid, the world's your oyster. Lighten up a bit and enjoy it.