Harper and Promise

Saturday night Bryce Harper, the 19 year old number one draft choice of the Washington Senators, came to bat at number three in the first inning with two out. He is a phenom, the fifth youngest player to arrive from the minors to the majors ever (number one is ARod), and was brought to enervate the increasingly talented first-place Washington team. He is a catcher with a rocket arm. Right now he is playing left field but he has played center. He is currently hitting .308 with a .424 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage. On the mound was Cole Hamels, the talented Phillie. Hamels throws 93 miles an hour behind Harper and hits him in the back.
Harper turns and goes to first. Up next, Jayson Werth, and he singles. The swift Harper goes to third without a throw. Werth moves off first, Hamel watches him, then goes to first. With the move to first Harper steals home. Steals home!

In the second, the Phillie catcher Ruiz comes to bat. "They are going to hit him," says the color guy, a former player. "They gotta hit him." But the Washington pitcher, Zimmerman, strikes him out with every pitch on the plate. The color guy seems a bit surprised.
When Hamels comes to bat in the third, Zimmerman hits him.

Harper has been terrific in the eight games he has played although most thought he would not stay in the majors this year. But, later in the game, Jayson Werth, the left fielder, sliding to make a catch, broke his wrist. He is their number four hitter with a 7 year, 126 million dollar contract. His backup is Xavier Nady.
Michael Morse, the original clean-up hitter who plays first and left, will return from his back injury soon as will infielders Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche but, with Werth's injury, Harper now may have to stay.