Bryce Harper won a Cooperstown Home Run Derby when he was 11
Bryce Harper won Cooperstown HR Derby when he was 11
Before Bryce Harper was a 2015 NL MVP candidate; before he crushed three homers in a game; before he launched a postseason dinger into the upper deck; before he was runner-up at the 2013 Home Run Derby; before he was the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year; before he was the No. 1 overall pick; before he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was 16; before he hit a home run over an elevated highway in Nevada ... Harper was showing off for scouts when he was still in grade school.
The above photograph was posted by longtime Baseball America co-editor-in-chief John Manuel. Manuel -- an expert on Minor League and amateur baseball talent -- says he was cleaning out some Baseball America archives when he found a results sheet from the 2004 Cooperstown Dreams Park skills competition.
Well, turns out that those results are available online -- here's an 11-year-old Harper accepting his trophy.
So, can we talk about how Harper looks just like Henry Rowengartner's friend from "Rookie of the Year?"
