SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - 16-year-old douchebag quits HS to pursue MLB dreams

Posted: Jun 15 2009 05:22 pm

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Why-I-mostly-support-Bryce-Harper-s-decision-to-?urn=mlb,170270

Bryce Harper is good at high school baseball. So good, in fact, that some fucking idiot at Sports Illustrated to decided to dub him The Chosen One and put him on the magazine's cover. Now, his ego, swimming, Harper has quit HS, passed a GED test, and enrolled in a community college so that he will be eligible for the 2010 MLB draft.

Look, I don't care how good this kid at high school baseball. It's still fucking high school baseball. Ken Dorsey was really good at college football; so was Doug Flutie. And neither of them had very impressive major league careers. I hope this kid epically fails and his dreams are completely fucking crushed, so that he can serve as example to other aspiring professional athletes that taking shortcuts is never the answer.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 05:27 pm

The best thing is, if his MLB career never comes to fruition, he'll have nothing to fall back on except for a career at his local Burger King.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 05:34 pm

I remember this guy called Kobe that was good at high school basketball.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 05:40 pm

Didn't they grind him up into overpriced hamburger meat?

Joined: Apr 14 2006 Location: Lake Michigan Posts: 3332

Ha! It makes sense that he's from Vegas.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 06:20 pm

Yeah, kids have high hopes. Here where I live, 90% of the kids that live in the poorest areas dream on becoming soccer players. Most of them do become soccer players, but in piss-poor teams that don't pay their employees properly, and thus, have to serve at other secondary jobs, like civilian workers or market packers...
Seriously, if you want to pursue a sports career, finish high school and college first. If you don't become what you want (in therms of sports), at least you'll be something else you like with some dignity.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 06:25 pm

I don't really have a problem with this in theory, except for what Syd already said: HOW exactly does high school translate to the MLB? At sixteen? Confused

Not that it matters all that much I suppose. If he does get drafted he'll have a huge signing bonus even if he ends up sucking. If he gets injured, he'll still have his GED and can continue on with college. *shrug*. So whatever, I guess. What bugs me though is that if a genuinely smart kid, who would benefit *intellectually* from skipping the last two years of high school asked to do something like this, they'd probably get turned down. Be a godly athlete pegged to make millions though, and the world's your oyster Rolling Eyes

Oh well. Here's hoping everything works out well for him. I hope he and his parents know what they're doing.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 06:47 pm

He lacks guidance, and common sense.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 07:08 pm

It really depends. He could be the next Griffey (pre-Cincinnati) or he could be the next Brien Taylor. I suppose it all depends on his level of commitment. I don't blame anyone for making a cash grab, though.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 07:28 pm

Didn't LeBron James pretty much do the same thing? He might have finished High School, but I know he skipped college.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 08:02 pm

He could also just be facing crappy/mediocre players, if he DOES end up in the MLB, he might get his ass handed to him.

Joined: Apr 14 2006 Location: Lake Michigan Posts: 3332

It's waaaay more prevalent in the NBA, but it does not always end well. Most of the time, they are not mature enough to deal with the professional sports world. Look at what happened to Eddy Curry, who went to the same high school as me. The Bulls drafted him, and he was overwhelmed by it all. Then, he developed heart problems, and is now dealing with the law because of his strange, personal sexual life. Then again, you can say that about a lot of pro basketball players.... No... just no.

Joined: Jun 10 2008 Posts: 172

in this kids defense he is massivly talented. He throws 98 mile an hour and he isnt even a pitcher. He has power to all fields and he hits for average and hes got good legs too. Its stil dumb to quit high school but yea he's rediculous.

Posted: Jun 16 2009 11:40 am

There is a reason you are not draft eligible until you are 18, regardless of skill set, in the NHL.

Joined: May 22 2008 Location: Goshen, VA Posts: 6544

Also, hockey is watchable. I can't say the same for 'roidfest, I mean baseball.

Joined: May 13 2009 Location: lowell, ma Posts: 289

I think it looks bad that he quit highschool, but honestly what the hell is a HS diploma even worth? If your smart enough you could get a GED and go to a 4 year school and take the SAT. I graduated highschool and i'm in college now but I don't think my diploma has given me any advantages that a GED wouldn't.

And for what it's worth, I would call Doug Flutie a pretty good NFL quarterback. He was pretty much always a starter in his prime, made it to atleast 1 probowl and of course you can't forget this, especially if your a Pats fan.

Title: Doctor of Science Joined: Jun 11 2007 Posts: 188

APLETHORAOFPINATAS wrote:

in this kids defense he is massivly talented. He throws 98 mile an hour and he isnt even a pitcher. He has power to all fields and he hits for average and hes got good legs too. Its stil dumb to quit high school but yea he's rediculous.

Exactly, I mean it's not like he just decided "Hey, I'm good at baseball,I'm gonna quit school!", the kid is, physically, at an MLB level and will probably end up a multi-millionaire.

Although quitting HS sounds stupid to regular people, if you have an opportunity like this kid does, then it might be smarter to take a chance and go for it.

Posted: Jul 09 2009 08:36 pm

How many times do you get the chance to say to your kids when they get their license..."When I was your age I was playing Major League Baseball getting paid millions of dollars."

Posted: Jul 09 2009 10:14 pm

How can they judge how good he is? It's not like he's got professional opponents to really test him.

Posted: Jul 09 2009 10:55 pm

in SLAM magazine, they had an article how some young kid is quitting HS to play pro ball international. he will still get tutored and get his GED when he qualifies, but i still think its kind of cool to make some cash and get to travel. not many people get to go to europe, so i see that as a great opportunity for him.

Banned Joined: Sep 13 2008 Posts: 3129

He should have stayed in school. He could have gotten a scholorship.

Posted: Jul 10 2009 09:57 pm

Somebody a year ahead of me in high school got a baseball scholarship from a college. At least it was at college though and if he didn't get into the MLB he would still have his college education.

Posted: Jul 13 2009 12:59 pm

sidewaydriver wrote:

How can they judge how good he is? It's not like he's got professional opponents to really test him.

This is what I'd like to know. Sure a lot of HS pitchers can throw hard, but they're not MLB pitchers. I'd like to see how he'd do against them right now.