The Greatest Ever
The 17-year old kid that was drafted number one by the Washington Nationals in the baseball draft, Bryce Harper, has already rubbed me the wrong way. First off, he wears eye black like Alice Cooper, and secondly he already pronounced himself to be the greatest player that ever lived.
Honestly, he was being interviewed by ESPN and he said he'd be the greatest player ever. Hall of Fame. Better than Ruth, better than DiMaggio, better than Mays and Aaron.
Good luck, kid. As luck might have it, my kids were watching the program as well.
"What's wrong with believing in yourself?" Matt asked.
Nothing. There's not a single thing wrong with being confident. Yet something about the fact that you're dismissing 100 years of players who have already played the game is a little off-setting.
This kid has never seen a cutter from Mariano, or even Wakefield's knuckleball for that matter. Shouldn't he reserve judgement until he actually plays the game?
Of course, he's only 17 and at 17 I imagined that it would all turn out to be a bed of roses. Hell, at 17, I thought I'd be the greatest player who ever lived. I couldn't play, mind you, but I still thought it.
Yet I can't stand players that spend endless hours telling me how good they are. I recall a story about Mattingly when he was with the Yankees. The clubhouse attendant was interviewed and he explained that he'd have to get to the park early to empty the garbage before Mattingly did it for him.
"He doesn't think he's better than anyone else," the attendant said.
That's what I like. A little bit of humility. A guy who pokes fun at himself from time-to-time and doesn't scream out "Look at Me."
It's what rubs me the wrong way about A-Rod. Yeah, yeah, he's a Yankee and he was on the team that won it last year, but he will never replace Mattingly as my favorite Yankee. Jeter might. A-Rod won't. "Look at Me."
Cliff Fazzolari hates people who talk about themselves in the first-person.
Anyway, I suppose I wish the kid luck. Perhaps he will make it to Cooperstown one day and take over for Mays, Aaron, Ruth, and the rest.
Someone should mention that he also has a chance to be the box boy at his local supermarket.
Either way, he better learn to be humble.
Life certainly has a way of making you humble, doesn't it?
I guess we learn that with age.
Honestly, he was being interviewed by ESPN and he said he'd be the greatest player ever. Hall of Fame. Better than Ruth, better than DiMaggio, better than Mays and Aaron.
Good luck, kid. As luck might have it, my kids were watching the program as well.
"What's wrong with believing in yourself?" Matt asked.
Nothing. There's not a single thing wrong with being confident. Yet something about the fact that you're dismissing 100 years of players who have already played the game is a little off-setting.
This kid has never seen a cutter from Mariano, or even Wakefield's knuckleball for that matter. Shouldn't he reserve judgement until he actually plays the game?
Of course, he's only 17 and at 17 I imagined that it would all turn out to be a bed of roses. Hell, at 17, I thought I'd be the greatest player who ever lived. I couldn't play, mind you, but I still thought it.
Yet I can't stand players that spend endless hours telling me how good they are. I recall a story about Mattingly when he was with the Yankees. The clubhouse attendant was interviewed and he explained that he'd have to get to the park early to empty the garbage before Mattingly did it for him.
"He doesn't think he's better than anyone else," the attendant said.
That's what I like. A little bit of humility. A guy who pokes fun at himself from time-to-time and doesn't scream out "Look at Me."
It's what rubs me the wrong way about A-Rod. Yeah, yeah, he's a Yankee and he was on the team that won it last year, but he will never replace Mattingly as my favorite Yankee. Jeter might. A-Rod won't. "Look at Me."
Cliff Fazzolari hates people who talk about themselves in the first-person.
Anyway, I suppose I wish the kid luck. Perhaps he will make it to Cooperstown one day and take over for Mays, Aaron, Ruth, and the rest.
Someone should mention that he also has a chance to be the box boy at his local supermarket.
Either way, he better learn to be humble.
Life certainly has a way of making you humble, doesn't it?
I guess we learn that with age.
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