I’m Eighteen and I LIKE It

In the immortal words of Alice Cooper:

I’m Eighteen
I get confused every day
Eighteen
I just don’t know what to say
Eighteen
I gotta get away

The drama and debate surrounding Bryce Harper and the “kiss heard ’round the world” is an interesting testament to the 2010 number one overall pick’s legend. For those who haven’t seen it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApkT5TZd9gA

Bryce Harper is eighteen, playing Single A ball (playing very well I’ll add), and he showed up a pitcher that may or may not ever make it to the show. Very few doubt Harper’s eventual promotion to the Nationals everyday roster, but for right now he is a Single A outfielder playing in Hagerstown, Maryland.

While I completely agree that Harper’s action was wrong and needs correcting, let’s remember he’s eighteen. This is barely a college aged kid playing under a microscope. If blowing kisses were the worst thing eighteen year olds did, we would be living in the movie “Pleasantville.”

Don’t misunderstand me, I fully subscribe to the unwritten rules of baseball and not showing up the pitcher after a home run is one of those rules.  Cockiness is never an attractive quality for fans of baseball, and Harper will need to correct this before reaching the big league club. But for now, let the kid be eighteen. He’ll figure it out.

And if he doesn’t? He’ll be learning another unwritten rule pretty quick. Fastballs off your upper back hurt.