Harrisburg Senators Baseball

Harper lets his talent talk for him

Bryce Harper will let his bat speak for him this weekend at Jerry Uht Park.

Harper, the Harrisburg Senators' 18-year-old outfielder, was scheduled to meet with Erie media before Saturday night's game against the Erie SeaWolves.

However, Washington Nationals officials announced before the series that the 2010 No. 1 overall draft pick won't be made available for any such interview sessions the rest of this season. Harrisburg's parent club offered no reason for its decision, which was made at the conclusion of the Senators' previous series at Reading.

But a lack of local insight from the 18-year-old phenom wasn't about to deter Matt Lundi, 39, from watching him this weekend.

"I know a lot of people are like, 'He's cocky and a real jerk,' " said the Ashtabula, Ohio, resident, who wore a blue Harper No. 34 uniform top.

"I don't know if that's true because I've never met him, but I know that every move he makes is that of a kid. He can do or say anything, and half the people will probably love him and half will be offended."

Each side of that fandom has been represented at Uht Park, with Kyle Uplinger in the former group. The Strong Vincent student and Colonels baseball player sought Harper's autograph when the Senators took the field for pregame drills Saturday.

"His talents are amazing," said Uplinger, who's only several months younger than Harper. "He has the opportunity to play at (the Double-A level) this young. The whole story about how he's gotten this far just makes it that much better."

But there was an anti-Harper faction in Friday's crowd at Uht Park, according to Bob Boone, Washington's vice president of player development who's in Erie for Harrisburg's series.

The former major league catcher and manager was irked about the catcalls, good-natured or not, that some fans directed at Harper during Friday's game.

"I was in the stands, and I almost got into three fights," Boone said. "What amazes me is how many people dislike Bryce. That's the interesting phenomenon. Yeah, it's rugged and yeah, we've all had to go through it (as players) in some sense or the other. But he's done a pretty good job of handling it."

Tony Beasley hasn't been attuned as much to Harper's scrutiny outside the foul lines as between them. The Senators' first-year manager, who played for the Erie Orioles in 1989, has watched the touted teenager closer than anyone since his Independence Day call-up from Single-A Hagerstown (Md.

Harrisburg Senators baseball team has become part of the community ...

It’s a 71-day summer vacation for some. Others come to work and earn a little extra. Some savvy businesses see a marketing opportunity.

For most everyone else, it’s the rarest of things in this economy — a fun, affordable evening or afternoon out for the whole family at a professional sporting event.

Over 25 years, the Harrisburg Senators minor league baseball team has woven its way into the fabric of people’s lives and that of the larger community, almost as tightly as the stitches on a baseball.

The return of professional baseball to Harrisburg’s City Island in 1987 marked the first attraction in the still-struggling city’s bid to woo people back. At the time, the Susquehanna River had become a Berlin Wall of sorts, separating the midstate’s East and West shores. Commuters might have poured into Harrisburg for work by day, but most were careful to scatter back to the suburbs before the sun went down.

Without the economic development home run of baseball, Harrisburg might never have scored with the likes of the Hilton, Whitaker Center, Restaurant Row and its Riverfront Park festivals that would follow.

Along the way, the relaxing, reassuring rhythms of the game quietly became the rhythms of people’s lives, livelihoods and businesses.

On game days, cars from both shores trickle in from the Market Street bridge. And inside the city’s new, amenity-rich stadium, beer is iced, popcorn cooked, pizzas baked and hot dogs roasted for another night of home game hospitality.

The atmosphere that overtakes Metro Bank Park becomes part sporting event, part street carnival, part backyard barbecue and part reunion among friends.

With between-inning distractions like toilet races and monkeys riding dogs, it provides a perfect mix of the mundane, the ridiculous, the corny and the carnival barker.

Yet, it’s also a strangely relaxing oasis — the perfect antidote to a hustle-bustle outside world.

The hands of time have no sway in this magical place. Baseball has nine innings and 54 outs — but no clock.

Blood pressure levels come down, even as diets take a holiday.

Meanwhile, socializing possibilities abound. There are friends to catch up with, new people to meet and children and spouses to re-connect with away from the rat race left behind at the gate.

Conversations come easily. Strangers in the next seat become neighbors. The year’s crop of new players are soon on a first-name basis with fans. And baseball bonds between family and friends grow anew over a long, leisurely season.

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Baseball America Prospect Handbook

Minor League Baseball and Local Economic Development

The Face of the Deep

Baseball America Directory 2008, Your Definitive Guide to the Game