OPINION:
Bryce Harper missed his second Nats Winterfest in a row last weekend in Washington, the third one held since he has been wearing as Nationals uniform.
He had a good reason — he was celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife Kayla, who tweeted a photo of the happy couple on their wedding day.
It was certainly a better look than in 2016, when Harper, preparing for his wedding, tweeted out a photo of him with his favorite college basketball team — the Duke Blue Devils — who were playing in Harper’s hometown of Las Vegas on the day of the 2016 Nats Winterfest.
He caught some flak for how tone deaf that was.
This time, though — well, who can argue with love? Not me.
Baseball fans in the city of Washington, though, have fallen in love with Harper, as well, over the five years he has been here.
And there is much reasonable fear that the city is about to have its heart broken.
If Harper had shown up for Nats Winterfest, he would have seen a convention center full of fans wondering if he plans on leaving them.
He would have encountered a Nationals press corps asking the same question.
It is the question that will dominate Major League Baseball in 2018.
Get ready for the Summer of Bryce’s Free Agency.
Harper is poised to become one of the most historic — and certainly highest-priced — free agents in baseball when the 2018 season comes to an end.
There was a time when $400 million was tossed around as the price tag for his services.
That figure seems quaint now. The bidding will likely start at $500 million, and who knows where it will go from there.
The Nationals are the only team that can talk contract with Harper until he becomes a free agent, but it doesn’t appear that will result in any sort of deal.
His agent, Scott Boras, told reporters at baseball’s winter meetings recently that he had preliminary discussions with Nationals owner Ted Lerner about Harper’s future. But Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that Harper and Boras are determined to test free agency, and the Nationals will simply be one of the bidders at that point.
Harper may embrace this spotlight, but I hope the Nationals organization comprehends what lies ahead for them — questions regularly put to Harper, team president Mike Rizzo, new manager Dave Martinez and Harper’s Nationals teammates — about the young superstar’s plans.
When local press gets tired of asking, there will be others — national reporters making the trek to West Palm Beach this spring for the Summer of Bryce’s Free Agency story. On the road at every stop this year, out-of-town reporters wanting a piece of Harper, asking what uniform he might be wearing next year.
And when Harper gets tired of answering, his teammates will have to.
When the Nationals make the trip to New York to play the Mets? Expect the back and maybe the front pages of the tabloids devoted to the possibility of Harper wearing Yankees’ pinstripes — that possibility may still be on the table even after New York’s trade for high-priced slugger Giancarlo Stanton. Stops in Chicago and Los Angeles will be Bryce Harper events.
What does this mean for Nationals baseball? Maybe if this was 1998, nothing. But in 2017, when the uncontrolled message can wreck havoc with an organization? When social media can steamroll players, managers and general managers at 100 mph? When perception is reality?
It can be damaging if you’re not prepared.
You can’t ignore the noise anymore. It’s deafening, every day, and the smart organizations will realize this, if they haven’t already, and understand that shaping perception and their player decisions and strategies should work together. Teams that put the proper value on message and perception will make their lives easier and their operations more successful.
Teams that don’t?
See the Eli Manning benching debacle in New York.
See the Stephen Strasburg pitching confusion in the 2017 National League Division Series.
The Nationals were caught off guard in 2012 for the noise that accompanied their decision to shut Strasburg down as part of their Tommy John surgery rehabilitation program. The Summer of Bryce’s Free Agency may not be such a firestorm. But it will be all-consuming.
After all, when it comes to love, people are passionate.
• Thom Loverro hosts his weekly podcast “Cigars & Curveballs” Wednesdays available on iTunes, Google Play and the reVolver podcast network.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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