SUCCESS STORY
Bryce Harper and 10,000 Hours
By: Brandon Meyer | Business Major
Not many 16-year-old kids hit a ball over 570ft. But Washington Nationals Outfielder Bryce Harper did just that. As a freshman at Las Vegas High school Harper step into the batters box and hit a ball not only over the fence but over a highway and into a desert. It’s not the only time Bryce has hit a ball over 500ft. That same year he set the record at Tropicana field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, for the longest ball ever hit in that stadium which 502ft. Out of High school, Harper was projected to be the next Lebron James of baseball. The chosen one. Harper is a 5 tool player. Which means he excels at hitting for average, hitting for power, baserunning skills and speed, throwing ability, and fielding abilities. Bryce was the first overall pick in the first round in 2010 by the Washington Nationals. The young phenom signed a 5 year, 9.9 million deal with the club including a $6.25 million signing bonus, and eight semesters of college tuition. (Verducci, “Here he comes”) Harpers has many talents but they didn’t just show up overnight. He had to put the time in to get where he wanted to be. According to Malcom Gladwell’s book Outliers, if someone were to practice for 10,000 hours they would be considered an expert or a master at what they do.(Gladwell 42) For Bryce putting in his hours would be either going to field to hit with his dad and brother or be playing with a team somewhere. Bryce was 19 years old when he made it to the Major Leagues. Does this mean that Bryce has already put in his 10,000 hours?
It is very difficult to put 10,000 hours in the game of baseball. No matter how many hours you put in at baseball you will still fail. Baseball is a game of failure. If you fail 7 out of 10 times you are considered pretty good.
Gladwell talks about in his book Outliers that talent is everything when it comes to success. Somewhere down the line people have to have opportunities and breaks. One example from the book he used was Bill Gates. Bill Gates lived walking distance from the University of Washington and was allowed to use their computers. He spent day after day putting his 10,000 hours in using those computers. (Gladwell 50) Bill Gates and Bryce Harper relate because they both are putting in their time but trying to achieve success. Only Harper would be on the baseball field.
Bryce had many opportunities that helped him be where he is at today. Bryce’s father played a big role in his development. When Bryce was younger he would wait for his dad to come home from work and his dad would throw little bottle caps and sunflower seed at him to work on his hand eye coordination. Alongside him was his older brother, Bryan, who helped push Bryce to succeed and gave him friendly competition. (ESPN E:60 “Bryce Harper”)
After Bryce’s sophomore year of high school, he dropped out to attend the College of Southern Nevada, a junior college. Before attending he earned his GED, which allowed him to be able to attend the junior college. He did this so he would be eligible to enter the 2010 MLB Draft. Making the transition with him was his closest competitor growing up and his older brother Bryan.
Bryan attended Cal State Northridge for his freshman and sophomore year. Then decided to transfer to College of Southern Nevada to be play with his brother and travel with him on road trips. (ESPN E:60 “Bryce Harper”)
Bryce had another advantage. He lived in a warm climate. Bryce was able to play baseball all year round outside. So this gave Bryce a much greater advantage to work on his game. It also gave him more of an opportunity to put his 10,000 hours in. Unlike a baseball player in a colder weather state, who can only put a few hours inside a practice facility during the winter time and a 3–4 months of games during the summer/fall seasons.
He also played for teams from Oklahoma, Nevada, and California growing up. Not only did this help him to get better and get his games in but this gave him more opportunities to showcase himself on a national stage as well. Not many young baseball players around the country can say that they played for multiple teams from different states and to get the exposure that Bryce did.
Gladwell talks about cultural legacies in his book Outliers. Describing them as powerful forces. They have deep roots and long lives. They persist, generation after generation, virtually intact, even as the economic and social and demographic conditions that spawned them have vanished, and they play such a role in directing attitudes and behavior that we cannot make sense of our world without them. (Gladwell 270–285)
Bryce Harper is successful due to his Cultural legacy. Predominantly the southern and western parts of the United States have been a hot bed for baseball players. The Nevada native couldn’t have been born in a better place. It’s mainly because he lives in a warmer climate. He got to play all year round and place against good talent.
There are more competitive teams in the south and west than there are in the northeast and Midwestern areas of the U.S. In general, baseball is main sport for a California, Florida, Texas kid. Unlike Minnesota or Wisconsin where Hockey is the main sport.
Generally there are more scouts in the south and western parts because that is where the majority of the talent for baseball is and the passion for it. There are players that come out of the north but not as much as the south and west. Which probably pushed Bryce to work hard and succeed because he knew that he would be pushed and the competition wouldn’t be easy.
Bryce has put many how hours into perfecting his game. When he was 10 years old he started traveling to tournaments every weekend. He would play for multiple teams at a time and traveling all around the country. His mother was quoted in ESPNs E:60 “He would come after having 10 games from a tournament and he wouldn’t be home for an hour and be like dad let’s go hit.”
Ever since Bryce was 14 years old, He would play about 170 games a year. (ESPN E:60 “Bryce Harper”) Major League Baseball teams play 162 games a year which means Bryce played a little more. Which is a lot of games but that doesn’t include all of his practices and workouts he did when he wasn’t playing.
Each baseball game is estimated to be at least two hours and if he played an average 170 games a year since he was 14 and up until the year when he was drafted, he would have about a rough estimate of 1,700 hours of game time. Which again doesn’t include the games when he first started playing baseball, college games, and minor league games, and the practices and workouts that he did.
If you were to actually make an estimate on how many hours he put in to get to the Major leagues, he would mostly likely be around 5,000 hours only half of Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule. Bryce hasn’t reached his 10,000 hours. Does this mean Bryce is not successful? No, imagine how good he would be if he did have 10,000 hours before he made the major leagues. I would bet he’d be one of the best players in the game.
Would you think Bryce Harper would still be the same Bryce Harper if he was born in Minnesota? That question will be unknown. It could’ve cost him a few hundreds hours of opportunity to improve his game. Plus the influence from his peers has had an impact on his development as a player as well. The fact that he was from a state like Nevada, played a big role in his journey to the big leagues.
It’s April 27, 2012. Harper gets to step in the box for the first time as a big leaguer for Nationals. The phenom has made it. Playing on the road in front of thousands of Los Angeles Dodger fans. Harper feels at home. His third at bat of his debut, he nails a double off of Chad Billingsley for his first major league hit.
All the games and practices and hours he has put in to get to this moment has finally paid off for him.
Harper ended up being the NL Rookie of the Year and making his first trip to the All-Star Game. Remember, He hasn’t reached his 10,000 hours yet but when he does he will could be one of the best players to ever play the game.
Works Cited
“E:60 Bryce Harper.” ESPN E:60. Writ. David Pickor. ESPN. Las Vegas, 12 Aug. 2009.
“The marvels of elite sports: how to get there?”. British Journal of Sports Medicine. British Journal of Sports Medicine, July. 2011. Web. 3 Mar. 2015.
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers. New York: Little, Brown and Company 2008. Medium.
Gregory, Sean. “Practice, Made Perfect?”. Time Magazine. 4/15/2013: 2p. Medium.
“A Quote by Malcolm Gladwell.” Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2015.
Verducci, Tom, Here he comes. Sports Illustrated. 1 August 2011. Medium. Feb. 2015.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brandon Meyer, a business major from Elk River, Minnesota, seeks to work in the sports business. Meyer likes to eat Chipotle on a daily basis, hunting and fishing, and going to Twins games.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
10,000 hour rule: 10,000 hours is a long time, but if you were to practice something for 10,000 hours you would be considered a expert at what you practiced.
Culture matters: Believe it or not, your culture has an impact on your success. Like a baseball player in the South has a more cultural advantage than a baseball player in the North.
Opportunity>talent: To be successful you don’t always have to have the best talent; sometimes it’s getting an opportunity that can make you successful.
Great stories start with a question: starting the reader off with a question gets them engaged in the story.
Drop readers in a moment: putting the reader in a moment first is a lot more interesting than starting off with boring factual information.
Authentic dialogue: using authentic dialogue when you’re writing a story is very effective.
Success=Work: Success doesn’t come to you. You have to put the work in to be successful.
Ambition Matters: having the will and want to be successful is one of the keys to being successful, along with having grit and self-discipline.
Timing circumstances: being at the right place and the right time can play a part in your success.
Lucky Breaks: just like having opportunities, getting a break can alter your way to being successful.
Choices are good: There is no universal pleaser. Everyone is different. Variety is needed to make people happy.
Choices are bad: Having endless choices can be bad. They cause paralysis and unhappiness. Having too many choices can lead to making choices that you regret.
Great writers create suspense: They make the reader wait to create suspense. Keeping the reader thinking and on the edge of their seats.
Three defining moments: A good writer uses at least three defining moments to use in their story.
Writing Covenant: Sitting in class and writing about life experiences. Sharing ideas and thoughts and using them to learn how to write. The best stories come from our own.
