VIERA, Fla. — On the day before the Washington Nationals’ first full-squad workout of 2015, Bryce Harper ambled into the dugout at Space Coast Stadium and took a seat amid the cameras. He stared straight ahead as he painted a vivid picture: A fearless 22-year-old hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy at the base of the Washington Monument.
“Like I said before, five years ago when I first signed here: I’m going to bring back a title to D.C. no matter what. And I’m getting chills thinking about it,” Harper said Wednesday. “I mean, I absolutely want to do that for this city, this town. And I don’t care how long it takes me.”
At around 10 a.m. on Thursday, Harper will ride a golf cart down to the team’s minor league complex, practice bunting, catch routine pop flies and join the monotony of spring training. But on Wednesday afternoon, he sat in the dugout with an unmistakable aura of confidence, a presence befitting one of the game’s most talented players.
Harper is lean, healthy and coming off a breakout performance in the National League Division Series. Manager Matt Williams said he will probably hit in the middle of the batting order. There is a sense that this season might finally be the season.
“All I’ve got to do is stay healthy,” Harper said. “I stay healthy and the sky’s the limit.”
Less than five months after his 22nd birthday, Harper is already preparing for his fourth major league season. The 2012 National League Rookie of the Year and two-time all-star missed 57 games last year with a torn ligament in his left thumb. The previous year, he missed more than a month with bursitis in his left knee.
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Harper laughs at the notion that he is injury-prone, pointing out that his maladies result from collisions rather than muscular tears or weakness. Nonetheless, he said he is focused on being smarter this season, while also retaining his all-out, all-the-time style of play.
“You’ve got to be as smart as you can,” Harper said. “If you’re up 7-0, do you really need to go get a foul ball in the stands and blow your chin out or do something like that? It’s just those situations. I can still play hard. I can still do the things I want to do. That’s what makes it fun. Being able to go out there and play hard and do the things we need to do to help this team win and hopefully make this city proud.”
Many people believe Harper’s health is the only thing that can stop him from reaching his sky-high potential. In the first three seasons of his career, he was an above-average hitter with tremendous power who went through the occasional slump. But he also only played 119 games per season.
Harper said he made slight changes to his offseason workout regimen this winter. Because of his 2013 knee injury, and the offseason surgery that followed, Harper said he was not able to build up strength in his legs entering 2014. This offseason, he was able to concentrate on his lower half and get leaner with fast-paced workouts, while also retaining his power.
“I’m doing 1,000-rep workouts in 45 minutes,” he said. “Just trying to roll through it as quick as I can, doing the things I need to do to get a little leaner and do things like that. But my strength is still there, my power is still there, so I feel very good.”
Williams said Harper is in “fantastic shape” and believes the outfielder is ready to take the next step in his career.
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“He had a fantastic postseason. I think that really gets some confidence going in him,” Williams said. “Reporting today, he looked in great shape. Certainly his swing is there. I threw him batting practice today and we almost had to get another bucket of balls.”
When asked what it will take for Harper to join the league’s elite this season, shortstop Ian Desmond began listing the facts. Harper made it to the majors when he was 19 and has started ever since. He racks up homers and outfield assists in bushels. He has reached the postseason and had success there, hitting three homers in four games in October.
“What’s it going to take for him to be an elite player?” Desmond then asked. “What else does he need to do to be elite? He already is, in my opinion, an elite player. To be able to juggle the things that he does off the field with his performance on the field, that is extremely hard. And he manages it. In my opinion, compared to everyone else in the world, every other 22-year-old out there, he’s elite.
“What is above that? We don’t know. Will it come one day? Most likely. When, or what’s he going to do to have to go there? The kid’s already a really special player.”
Closer Drew Storen said he has been more impressed by the way in which Harper has embraced his expectations than anything. He believes Harper will reach his potential simply by staying on his current path.
“He’s a very special player, and he doesn’t need to do anything more than what he already does,” Storen said. “It’s just maximizing the talents he has. It’s not a matter of him needing to go out and hit 100 homers or something like that. He plays the game a different way than anybody’s really seen. It’s just a matter of understanding those strengths and really maximizing that.”
Harper will switch from left field to right field this season and said he is looking forward to “[showing] off my arm a little more.” Though, as he later added, he might not have many chances given the Nationals’ starting rotation.
When asked about the offseason addition of former Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, Harper described his first reaction as surprise. The two players share an agent, Scott Boras, so Harper talked to him when the rumors first began to swirl. With a rotation of Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark, he didn’t think the Nationals necessarily needed Scherzer. It was just icing on the cake.
“I just started laughing,” Harper said. “I was like, ’Where’s my ring?’ You know what I mean? It’s stupid. It’s absolutely stupid how good our staff is. I mean, to add a Cy Young, to add a guy that’s unbelievable in the postseason … if you have to go into a five-game set against a team, you’re going to have to face Zimmermann, Fister, Scherzer and Stras. I mean, good luck. Because that’s insane. Going into that, it’s just, I’m crying because it’s hilarious having to go in there and face them. It’s absolutely stupid.”
Harper and the Nationals had a grievance hearing scheduled this winter to settle an ambiguity about arbitration eligibility in the outfielder’s contract. The two sides agreed to a new two-year deal before the hearing took place, and Harper said there is no love lost between he and general manager Mike Rizzo.
The deal guaranteed that Harper will be in Washington through the 2016 season, with two years of arbitration after that. He is not set to become a free agent until 2019. Though Harper is focused on the upcoming season, he couldn’t help but take a glimpse at the future, too.
“I’m going to stick and do what I need to do to help this organization win,” he said. “They showed me what they wanted and how they wanted to do it, and got that deal done and I’m here for the next two years definitely. And I’m excited to get going this year and doing the things that I need to do, to bring a title back to D.C. and hoist that trophy over the monuments.”
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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