Bryce Harper talks of his Major League debut and how he coped initially - MLB Update
With his name recognised in the world of baseball now, the Washington Nationals’ All-Star rookie out-fielder Bryce Harper discusses how he went through the initial phase of his entry into the Major League and the strategy he adopted to overcome the pressure.
Playing first few games for the club was a challenge, because Harper had to continue the success the team was enjoying until then.
Furthermore, his Major League debut was triggered by the injuries to some of the Nationals’ players. Their star out-fielder Michael Morse was injured and so was their third-baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Despite the occurrence of injuries, they were leading their
Division in terms of wins.
Therefore, in light of maintaining the status quo, Harper’s role had to come under the scanner. A slight hiccup on the plate and little decline in performance of the team would have directly resulted into questioning the role of Harper in the line-up.
In this regard, the way Harper grappled with the pressure and fared stunning shows on the plate, was commendable. Therefore, his being named for the All-Star Game is just fair.
Meanwhile, Harper states that he tried to keep himself cool at the start and avoided getting his mind entangled by unnecessary things. He explained that he just walked up there and kept his focus on the play, instead of looking over as to where the Nationals
were on the Division table at that moment.
"I just tried to go in there and play the game that I knew how to play," Harper said. "I didn't want to come in and change the vibe because we were winning. I wanted to keep my mouth shut and play the game I know how to play and work hard and respect everybody
around me and not worry about anybody."
With regard to veterans in the team and his behaviour with them, Harper uttered that he paid respect to them and tried to learn from their experience.
Currently, Harper is all set to make his way into the field on July 10 at Kansas City in his first All-Star appearance. He will be making sure that he keeps his momentum afloat and performs on the day, if allowed an opportunity on the plate.
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